Focus!
I hear this all the time – “I want to buy in a different market than I live in.” I say don’t do it!! We NEVER do it. Instead, FOCUS on one place.
We’ve made a lot of money focusing on the areas that I grew up in. I actually live here, so I know them very well. We focus on small markets that we can truly have an impact in. Everyone says, “I have to go to the other side of the state, and maybe even out of state to find the best markets,” but lets break that down from a numbers standpoint.
- You have to pay someone to manage it, you have to pay someone to fix it, and you have to trust these people that they’re doing as good of a job as you. TONS of money can be wasted this way if you aren’t able to check on up the jobs, which leads me to my next point…
- Your eyes are never on it. Is it really to your liking? Does it fit well within the area? Is the design and finish really true to your idea? The only way to tell is by traveling back and forth a ton! To me, that sounds way too complex for something that isn’t complex.
- You most likely don’t know the in’s and out’s of that market. If you aren’t living there, with your finger on the pulse of the neighborhoods you’re in, it’s hard to know what to buy and for how much. Looking up comps on Zillow or other similar websites will only take you so far. To know it, you have to be in it!
I would say you very likely have a great market where you’re at. Find it, learn it, and then dominate that one market. You don’t have to buy all over the world to make a lot of money in real estate.