When it comes to deciding where to invest in real estate, there are a lot of places you could choose. This article will give you a few ideas you may not have thought of before, and one that may shock you!
When new investors are first starting out, they almost always start investing in their own hometown – their backyard, so to speak. There’s nothing wrong with this, and it’s really quite natural. After all, why not invest in neighborhoods and communities you are familiar with? this helps keep the initial learning curve from being any steeper than it already is.
Not only that, but when you first start out, you really should look at a lot of properties – hundreds even – and that’s obviously much easier if you only need to drive over a couple of streets, instead of a couple of states!
For those investors with a little more experience under their belts, spreading their wings is a real possibility, and presents several opportunities not available to the real estate investor who only invests in his own hometown. One such opportunity is vacation property.
You may not live in a tourist mecca, so if you want to buy vacation property – like beach or mountain real estate – you may have little choice but to go outside your own familiar terrain. Fear not, though. Get the right kind of help, like trustworthy Realtors and property managers, and buying property in a distant city or town doesn’t need to be a problem. There’s tons of money to be made to. Why not consider vacation property for your next investment?
Another possibility is choosing an investment city or town based on a high probability of success. For instance, why not invest in a city where real estate is less expensive and more readily available than it is in your town?
Here’s an example… many investors in expensive areas like Southern California or Connecticut look at smaller, second-tier cities like Rochester NY, or Greenville SC. That’s right, I said Rochester NY! Real estate in Rochester NY has actually become very popular with investors from every state, and many other countries as well.
Why? Because Rochester, and cities like it, have low real estate prices, so the cost of entry is accessible for lots of investors. Rochester also has a stable economy, with plenty of high-quality jobs, and excellent schools, all of which attracts a ton of potential tenants for your rental properties. I personally know investors from as far away as Ireland and Australia who come to Rochester just to invest in the residential real estate!
So, as you can see, it’s a great idea for a new investor to start investing in their own hometown. You just don’t need to get stuck there forever. There are many other opportunities out there – like vacation property and second-tier cities – and some of them will even surprise you. Happy investing!