Real Estate: Best markets
Quote: (03-20-2013 07:46 AM)thegmanifesto Wrote:
Quote: (03-20-2013 01:33 AM)pants Wrote:
If you do all your work remotely, why not move to a cheaper place?
Work from a country with good internet, cute girls and cheap rent?
What city offers the benefits of Miami Beach and is significantly cheaper?
Panama City is a cheap and cool city where you can get some work done. Fast internet too. There are cute girls but, of course, nothing remotely on Miami level.
Florianopolis is nice as is Rio de Janeiro. Competitive talent. Arguably cheaper than Miami Beach but you get less for what you pay for.
I don't think there's a place that's going to have what Miami Beach offers all around.
Quote: (03-20-2013 08:09 AM)Hencredible Casanova Wrote:
Quote: (03-20-2013 07:46 AM)thegmanifesto Wrote:
Quote: (03-20-2013 01:33 AM)pants Wrote:
If you do all your work remotely, why not move to a cheaper place?
Work from a country with good internet, cute girls and cheap rent?
What city offers the benefits of Miami Beach and is significantly cheaper?
Panama City is a cheap and cool city where you can get some work done. Fast internet too. There are cute girls but, of course, nothing remotely on Miami level.
Florianopolis is nice as is Rio de Janeiro. Competitive talent. Arguably cheaper than Miami Beach but you get less for what you pay for.
I don't think there's a place that's going to have what Miami Beach offers all around.
What is Panama City pricing like? (rough idea ie cocktail, nice meal, average meal, taxi, apartment).
How is that city logistically speaking?
How are the beaches in the city?
Quote: (03-20-2013 07:46 AM)thegmanifesto Wrote:
Quote: (03-20-2013 01:33 AM)pants Wrote:
If you do all your work remotely, why not move to a cheaper place?
Work from a country with good internet, cute girls and cheap rent?
What city offers the benefits of Miami Beach and is significantly cheaper?
haven't been to Miami, so doing a comparison would be pointless. What I read about the us in general in this forum is not great.
What do Miami have that is great? Beach, weather, nightlife?
Good cheap cities with warm weather, cute girls and decent nightlife.
- Ho Chi Minh City, good nightlife, expat community, casino
- Chiang Mai, can probably save 1500USD a month in rent here, no beach though, very cheap to eat outside. I never made a single meal in my 6 weeks there.
- Kuala Lumpur
Not entirely sure about the rent here.
- Cape Town or Durban, if you're gonna live close to the sea, might as well get some waves at the same time. Awful crime there though.
Quote: (03-20-2013 09:30 AM)thegmanifesto Wrote:
Quote: (03-20-2013 08:09 AM)Hencredible Casanova Wrote:
Quote: (03-20-2013 07:46 AM)thegmanifesto Wrote:
Quote: (03-20-2013 01:33 AM)pants Wrote:
If you do all your work remotely, why not move to a cheaper place?
Work from a country with good internet, cute girls and cheap rent?
What city offers the benefits of Miami Beach and is significantly cheaper?
Panama City is a cheap and cool city where you can get some work done. Fast internet too. There are cute girls but, of course, nothing remotely on Miami level.
Florianopolis is nice as is Rio de Janeiro. Competitive talent. Arguably cheaper than Miami Beach but you get less for what you pay for.
I don't think there's a place that's going to have what Miami Beach offers all around.
What is Panama City pricing like? (rough idea ie cocktail, nice meal, average meal, taxi, apartment).
How is that city logistically speaking?
How are the beaches in the city?
Panama City is insanely affordable. It's probably the best city in the Americas to be an expat and is also a top 5 retirement location in the world.
Taxis are ridiculously cheap. $1 - 2 to get anywhere in the city. Most of the places to go are in the same zone. In DC you're already out $4 once you get in the cab and that's before you've even gone anywhere!
Meals are cheap as well. A good meal won't set you back more than $15 at most. I'm not a vegetarian but I used to go to this DOPE Chinese veggie resto off of Via Espana and get some bomb ass meals for like $3.
The city has some pretty good nightlife options. Calle Uruguay is the most popular. Lots of bars/clubs. There's also a few isolated spots along Via Espana and one big club where it hits Via Argentina.
Then there's the Amador Causeway which connects you to a really nice part of the city that also has some good clubs/bars. The taxi there is between $5-10.
Panama City is a cool place to post up. There's a big international population there from all over Latin America. The Trump Building opened up in the past couple years and has a casino and bars so that might be poppin'.
HUD tracks the current FMR Fair Market Rents by County in the USA so you can use the current FMR rents and the asking price on any properties you are looking at to come up with a quick comparison the GRM or Gross Rent Multiplier - good for quick comparisons and then use traditional expense analysis and cash flows to determine the Cap or Capitalization Rate before making an offer. The traditional wisdom is that real estate is not as liquid as securities so you need a higher return to offset the illiquid nature of Real Estate as well as the higher risks of ownership and liability insurances required - a good rule of thumb is take the annual rental income for an income property lets say it is $100K times .10 or a 10% cap rate equals an economic value of $1 Million - so if the seller is asking $1M or less for a $100K verified income after maintenance costs and taxes the property is yielding a 10% Capitalization Rate being the cash flow available to support financing and debt service - so clearly property condition, local vacancy rates and maintenance, operating expenses and local property tax costs all must be factored in to determine if the property is a good deal.
http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/f...ummary.odn
Lee County Ft Meyers Cape Coral FL
Take the annual Gross Rental income for example a single family home that rents for $1000 a month is $12K per year and if the purchase price in a recovering area is say $120K then the GRM is 10. For a while Ft Meyers and Cape Coral GRMs were just above 5 but demand was off and there were high vacancy rates which HUD tracks via Post Office vacant addresses.
http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/usps.html
High vacancy rates 5% to 10%+ mean it can take a while to rent at FMR and to get good tenants - anything over 10% according to USPS stats you need to look at crime rates as well because it could mean a hot spot of crack houses and crystal meth labs - if the deal is too good and way below prevailing GRMs and Cap Rates in the area beware:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/27/met...omebuyers/
To calculate the Gross Rent Multiplier, you simply divide the Projected Rental Income (PRI) by the Investment Value (IV). For Property A, $200,000 (PRI) / $3,000,000 (IV) = 6.67 (GRM). For property B, $220,000 (PRI) / $3,250,000 (IV) = 6.77 (GRM). Since 6.77 is higher than 6.67, property A is the better investment according to the GRM.
Bottom line for single family homes or duplexes that you can buy, paint and rent a GRM of 16 or less is considered good and you should have a positive cash flow with low vacancies whereas a GRM of 20 or higher and you may be dipping into your pocket to cover monthly costs of ownership (negative cash flow) OK if it is your primary home but NOT ok for income properties.
Like I said for a while after the Sept 2008 to March 2009 financial crisis market crash Ft Meyers/Cape Coral GRMs were about 5 to 6 - whereas the Florida southeast "Gold" Coast GRMs were always higher due to demand. Except for rather high vacancy rates these were no brainer investments for properties in good condition. I always use a pro home/property inspector with a complete checklist to find things I might over look - recalled appliances - Hot Water heaters, HVAC Furnaces, ACs past useful life and needing replacement - you need to be ruthless in your offers and deduct the costs of all needed improvements including licensed labor - HVAC/Electricians/Plumbers on any repairs and deduct that from the offer price as well - unless it is a property you want to live in and will be there for years to recapture any improvements. A pro property inspection delivered through a broker now puts the broker in the position of having to give full disclosure to any buyers or loose their license or be sued - happens all the time - so it can save you serious money by bursting any banks REO values or any unrealistic sellers blue sky asking prices. That is why so many income properties have a seller financing component as the FHA has tightened up its home inspection requirements for popular FHA or VA approved loans,
OBTW Do not let your special snowflake decide to renovate everything...
Fresh Paint, new flooring etc minor repairs typically make the property more desirable - however beware having to demo and refurb Kitchens and baths and HVAC in rental properties with all new appliances/systems as it can take many years to recapture that investment in the property values. I also make sure the wells and septic systems are fairly new or hooked up to city water and sewers otherwise assume they will need to be replaced. Can be a major headache if a well runs dry or septic system clogs so first time investors safer with city water and sewer utilities. Even new subdivisions can have septic problems if the land is wet with a high water table or perc tests were fudged. If the property needs these major rehab upgrades then be ruthless and deduct the costs from the offering price including your time to manage everything - this is why so many bank REO homes are going at bargains - unless nutty offshore investors are bidding them up sight unseen to uneconomic prices.
Fall in love with the numbers and the current condition of the property and not what some special snowflake thinks would make it more cozy if you want to make a profit. If you make a realistic offer based upon the condition and the numbers and the seller rejects it time to make more offers on other properties and keep the original offer binder deposits extremely low $1 "in consideration" is all you need to make a legally binding contract until you know the owner is amenable to the offer and realistic about the condition (Most bank foreclosed REOs the banksters have never even seen the properties and vacant homes deteriorate with mold and mildew quite rapidly - many have also been stripped of copper wiring and plumbing making them basically worthless except for the land foundation and shell. An acquaintance looks for HUD foreclosures that have been stripped of copper that he can gut and renovate - likes to buy at less than $100K, invest 80K or less and sell for $300K to $400K but have to be ruthless with offers to the sellers mostly bank REO offices. And licensed Realtors MUST present all written offers. Realtors always think dumps are palaces and best to work with an investors broker who will help you get the best deals in exchange for the rental mgmt or sales listings after the renovations. Best to lease with option till the capital gains holding period lapses and you pay 20% Federal versus 39.6% federal taxes.
I have a large property I am looking at now where the owner is aging and looking to sell as he did the maintenance but it is a Trailer Home park in a nice lakes region town and can be a major headache if single moms and pensioners start bitching if I try to upgrade. Also lots of crystal meth in our working class areas - even better subdivisions - like much of the rest of America so only way it would make sense is if the owner is willing to finance with NO bank involvement and I secretly convert the properties to a 55+ retirement village only - can be a problem if established base of bikers/drugs dealers so looking into that now by some stealth recon - if any units have lots of cars coming and going all day in a quiet residential home area at times when most people working - something dodgy is up (Drugs dealing or hooking) and can spike a vacancy rate by scaring off the good renters. Towns love 55+ retirement villages because No kids under 18 allowed and no impact on expensive schools costs - most 55+ retirement villages are actually cash cows in new property taxes for most towns and cities. So we will see how it plays out.
http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/f...ummary.odn
Lee County Ft Meyers Cape Coral FL
Take the annual Gross Rental income for example a single family home that rents for $1000 a month is $12K per year and if the purchase price in a recovering area is say $120K then the GRM is 10. For a while Ft Meyers and Cape Coral GRMs were just above 5 but demand was off and there were high vacancy rates which HUD tracks via Post Office vacant addresses.
http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/usps.html
High vacancy rates 5% to 10%+ mean it can take a while to rent at FMR and to get good tenants - anything over 10% according to USPS stats you need to look at crime rates as well because it could mean a hot spot of crack houses and crystal meth labs - if the deal is too good and way below prevailing GRMs and Cap Rates in the area beware:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/27/met...omebuyers/
To calculate the Gross Rent Multiplier, you simply divide the Projected Rental Income (PRI) by the Investment Value (IV). For Property A, $200,000 (PRI) / $3,000,000 (IV) = 6.67 (GRM). For property B, $220,000 (PRI) / $3,250,000 (IV) = 6.77 (GRM). Since 6.77 is higher than 6.67, property A is the better investment according to the GRM.
Bottom line for single family homes or duplexes that you can buy, paint and rent a GRM of 16 or less is considered good and you should have a positive cash flow with low vacancies whereas a GRM of 20 or higher and you may be dipping into your pocket to cover monthly costs of ownership (negative cash flow) OK if it is your primary home but NOT ok for income properties.
Like I said for a while after the Sept 2008 to March 2009 financial crisis market crash Ft Meyers/Cape Coral GRMs were about 5 to 6 - whereas the Florida southeast "Gold" Coast GRMs were always higher due to demand. Except for rather high vacancy rates these were no brainer investments for properties in good condition. I always use a pro home/property inspector with a complete checklist to find things I might over look - recalled appliances - Hot Water heaters, HVAC Furnaces, ACs past useful life and needing replacement - you need to be ruthless in your offers and deduct the costs of all needed improvements including licensed labor - HVAC/Electricians/Plumbers on any repairs and deduct that from the offer price as well - unless it is a property you want to live in and will be there for years to recapture any improvements. A pro property inspection delivered through a broker now puts the broker in the position of having to give full disclosure to any buyers or loose their license or be sued - happens all the time - so it can save you serious money by bursting any banks REO values or any unrealistic sellers blue sky asking prices. That is why so many income properties have a seller financing component as the FHA has tightened up its home inspection requirements for popular FHA or VA approved loans,
OBTW Do not let your special snowflake decide to renovate everything...
Fresh Paint, new flooring etc minor repairs typically make the property more desirable - however beware having to demo and refurb Kitchens and baths and HVAC in rental properties with all new appliances/systems as it can take many years to recapture that investment in the property values. I also make sure the wells and septic systems are fairly new or hooked up to city water and sewers otherwise assume they will need to be replaced. Can be a major headache if a well runs dry or septic system clogs so first time investors safer with city water and sewer utilities. Even new subdivisions can have septic problems if the land is wet with a high water table or perc tests were fudged. If the property needs these major rehab upgrades then be ruthless and deduct the costs from the offering price including your time to manage everything - this is why so many bank REO homes are going at bargains - unless nutty offshore investors are bidding them up sight unseen to uneconomic prices.
Fall in love with the numbers and the current condition of the property and not what some special snowflake thinks would make it more cozy if you want to make a profit. If you make a realistic offer based upon the condition and the numbers and the seller rejects it time to make more offers on other properties and keep the original offer binder deposits extremely low $1 "in consideration" is all you need to make a legally binding contract until you know the owner is amenable to the offer and realistic about the condition (Most bank foreclosed REOs the banksters have never even seen the properties and vacant homes deteriorate with mold and mildew quite rapidly - many have also been stripped of copper wiring and plumbing making them basically worthless except for the land foundation and shell. An acquaintance looks for HUD foreclosures that have been stripped of copper that he can gut and renovate - likes to buy at less than $100K, invest 80K or less and sell for $300K to $400K but have to be ruthless with offers to the sellers mostly bank REO offices. And licensed Realtors MUST present all written offers. Realtors always think dumps are palaces and best to work with an investors broker who will help you get the best deals in exchange for the rental mgmt or sales listings after the renovations. Best to lease with option till the capital gains holding period lapses and you pay 20% Federal versus 39.6% federal taxes.
I have a large property I am looking at now where the owner is aging and looking to sell as he did the maintenance but it is a Trailer Home park in a nice lakes region town and can be a major headache if single moms and pensioners start bitching if I try to upgrade. Also lots of crystal meth in our working class areas - even better subdivisions - like much of the rest of America so only way it would make sense is if the owner is willing to finance with NO bank involvement and I secretly convert the properties to a 55+ retirement village only - can be a problem if established base of bikers/drugs dealers so looking into that now by some stealth recon - if any units have lots of cars coming and going all day in a quiet residential home area at times when most people working - something dodgy is up (Drugs dealing or hooking) and can spike a vacancy rate by scaring off the good renters. Towns love 55+ retirement villages because No kids under 18 allowed and no impact on expensive schools costs - most 55+ retirement villages are actually cash cows in new property taxes for most towns and cities. So we will see how it plays out.
Ooops - to select your FMR geography this is the HUD link:
http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/f...graphy.odn
FMR is the fair market rents being paid now in any specific geography (county) by residential unit size and determines how much you will earn and what the median can afford to pay in that geo. Therefore it determines how much you will earn and how much you can afford to pay in economic terms (positive cash flow) for a given property.
Multiply the average FMR by 12 for the annual gross rent and then divide than into the asking price per like kind unit studio one two or three bedroom units and you know the GRM of that property - lower GRMs equal a better chance of a positive cash flow in a reasonable to low vacancy market - high vacancy markets all bets are off as something is fundamentally wrong - a collapse of a local industry or a deterioration of a region into low unemployment and high (drugs etc) crime.
So the tools above should be quite useful in finding the best areas - low vacancies and low GRMs with real FMRs that are likely to rebound with the local and national economy cutting through Realtor's or Bank REOs "liars listing sheets" bull and and help you filter the best from the mere good/fair as you do your location and properties analysis.
Some of the best long term deals are 100% owner financing that they can rely on as a retirement annuity from you as the new owner manager and they can be freed up to travel and enjoy their retirements.
Game On!
http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/f...graphy.odn
FMR is the fair market rents being paid now in any specific geography (county) by residential unit size and determines how much you will earn and what the median can afford to pay in that geo. Therefore it determines how much you will earn and how much you can afford to pay in economic terms (positive cash flow) for a given property.
Multiply the average FMR by 12 for the annual gross rent and then divide than into the asking price per like kind unit studio one two or three bedroom units and you know the GRM of that property - lower GRMs equal a better chance of a positive cash flow in a reasonable to low vacancy market - high vacancy markets all bets are off as something is fundamentally wrong - a collapse of a local industry or a deterioration of a region into low unemployment and high (drugs etc) crime.
So the tools above should be quite useful in finding the best areas - low vacancies and low GRMs with real FMRs that are likely to rebound with the local and national economy cutting through Realtor's or Bank REOs "liars listing sheets" bull and and help you filter the best from the mere good/fair as you do your location and properties analysis.
Some of the best long term deals are 100% owner financing that they can rely on as a retirement annuity from you as the new owner manager and they can be freed up to travel and enjoy their retirements.
Game On!
Quote: (03-20-2013 11:01 AM)Hencredible Casanova Wrote:
Quote: (03-20-2013 09:30 AM)thegmanifesto Wrote:
Quote: (03-20-2013 08:09 AM)Hencredible Casanova Wrote:
Quote: (03-20-2013 07:46 AM)thegmanifesto Wrote:
Quote: (03-20-2013 01:33 AM)pants Wrote:
If you do all your work remotely, why not move to a cheaper place?
Work from a country with good internet, cute girls and cheap rent?
What city offers the benefits of Miami Beach and is significantly cheaper?
Panama City is a cheap and cool city where you can get some work done. Fast internet too. There are cute girls but, of course, nothing remotely on Miami level.
Florianopolis is nice as is Rio de Janeiro. Competitive talent. Arguably cheaper than Miami Beach but you get less for what you pay for.
I don't think there's a place that's going to have what Miami Beach offers all around.
What is Panama City pricing like? (rough idea ie cocktail, nice meal, average meal, taxi, apartment).
How is that city logistically speaking?
How are the beaches in the city?
Panama City is insanely affordable. It's probably the best city in the Americas to be an expat and is also a top 5 retirement location in the world.
Taxis are ridiculously cheap. $1 - 2 to get anywhere in the city. Most of the places to go are in the same zone. In DC you're already out $4 once you get in the cab and that's before you've even gone anywhere!
Meals are cheap as well. A good meal won't set you back more than $15 at most. I'm not a vegetarian but I used to go to this DOPE Chinese veggie resto off of Via Espana and get some bomb ass meals for like $3.
The city has some pretty good nightlife options. Calle Uruguay is the most popular. Lots of bars/clubs. There's also a few isolated spots along Via Espana and one big club where it hits Via Argentina.
Then there's the Amador Causeway which connects you to a really nice part of the city that also has some good clubs/bars. The taxi there is between $5-10.
Panama City is a cool place to post up. There's a big international population there from all over Latin America. The Trump Building opened up in the past couple years and has a casino and bars so that might be poppin'.
How are the city beaches?
Maintaining a section 8 income property as an absentee landlord is not a good idea, no matter how cheap it is. Sec 8 tenants will drive you absolutely nuts, and make you want to jump off your own building. They will leave the water running, constantly break things, and then call the health department if you are somehow disagreeable. There's a reason that Sec 8 cap rates look amazing...management is brutal, and more importantly, soul crushing.
Most successful real estate investors I know do not live large, especially at the beginning. The landlord's basic business model is to get paid for dealing with inconveniences. This mentality does not seem to be coming from your posts.
As for using statistics, your gut feeling and market knowledge is worth 10x as much as any spreadsheet you can come up with. You should know a good deal when you see one, literally minutes after walking into the property.
Most successful real estate investors I know do not live large, especially at the beginning. The landlord's basic business model is to get paid for dealing with inconveniences. This mentality does not seem to be coming from your posts.
As for using statistics, your gut feeling and market knowledge is worth 10x as much as any spreadsheet you can come up with. You should know a good deal when you see one, literally minutes after walking into the property.
G: Amazing really Miami up 25% in the last year and bust out inventory of 08/09 49,000 units down to less than one year inventory of 2400 units:
Miami condo market again defies gravity -- and reason
http://homes.yahoo.com/news/miami-condo-...58484.html
How did it happen? Foreign, all-cash buyers like Venezuelans, Russians, Chinese, Canadians and Brazilians. They were either looking for a safe-haven to park their money or were taking advantage of a weak dollar. Whatever the reason, they came, they saw, they bought. "It's mind-boggling. I'm perplexed as to how all this can go forward this quickly," said Peter Zalewski of CondoVultures.
Soon no need to fly around the world for prime poon they will be sitting by a Brikell Ave/Ocean Ave infinity pool for you to swoon!
Going to have to take a second look at a Cigar and Spirits club with fresh rolls from Calle Ocho and Habana when the embargo is lifted.
Miami condo market again defies gravity -- and reason
http://homes.yahoo.com/news/miami-condo-...58484.html
How did it happen? Foreign, all-cash buyers like Venezuelans, Russians, Chinese, Canadians and Brazilians. They were either looking for a safe-haven to park their money or were taking advantage of a weak dollar. Whatever the reason, they came, they saw, they bought. "It's mind-boggling. I'm perplexed as to how all this can go forward this quickly," said Peter Zalewski of CondoVultures.
Soon no need to fly around the world for prime poon they will be sitting by a Brikell Ave/Ocean Ave infinity pool for you to swoon!
Going to have to take a second look at a Cigar and Spirits club with fresh rolls from Calle Ocho and Habana when the embargo is lifted.
Quote: (03-14-2013 08:54 PM)_DC_ Wrote:
G, im only referring to the Waverly which runs 400k-650k for a 2bd. The balconies are small though, and Miami is kinda skewed, not dead center. The really baller condos are south of fifth like the Continuum.
I used to work at the Continuum and god damn cheapest place was right around 1 million and the penthouse was around 17 mil but damn it was milf central all these chicks with big fake tits driving their Bentleys
Other than that I think Miami will give you your best bang for your buck. Florida is cheap and has the fast pace lifestyle like california. This is why people like michael jordan and tiger woods live there so they dont get screwed in taxes. Also a year or two ago there were a lot of vacancies and the market was pretty cheap as for now Iam not so sure and as posted above people jumped on the opportunity
And you also said you love living in Miami so thats even better
I wanted to bump this (was considering making a new thread, but I'm not sure if that's proper etiquette) and see what you guys think is happening in U.S. real estate right now and what the markets are going to be like for 2014.
I am interested in a few things:
1. Pro RE forums. I value RVF members knowledge and opinions a lot, but it would be interesting to discover some dedicated RE forums to really dig deeper and learn as much as I can. Obviously, I can use Google, but personal suggestions would be appreciated.
2. Growth markets, how to find them, and how to find individual properties within them. Side note: Are MLS listings only accessible to professional realtors?
3. Info on REITs. I'm very interested in this side of real estate investing, but don't know anything about how to pick good ones. Anyone care to chime in with their recommendation? Again, pro forums (maybe covered in point no. 1 above) or other ways to self-educate might be nice.
---
Why?
I've got a chunk of change saved up and want to use it for a down payment on a 3-4 unit multifamily property (of which one unit I would occupy) in the U.S. I have a second chunk of change set aside that I am thinking of investing in a REIT.
I'm not averse to the potential pitfalls of either these investments. And I'm not looking for rent vs. own advice. Thanks a mil.
I am interested in a few things:
1. Pro RE forums. I value RVF members knowledge and opinions a lot, but it would be interesting to discover some dedicated RE forums to really dig deeper and learn as much as I can. Obviously, I can use Google, but personal suggestions would be appreciated.
2. Growth markets, how to find them, and how to find individual properties within them. Side note: Are MLS listings only accessible to professional realtors?
3. Info on REITs. I'm very interested in this side of real estate investing, but don't know anything about how to pick good ones. Anyone care to chime in with their recommendation? Again, pro forums (maybe covered in point no. 1 above) or other ways to self-educate might be nice.
---
Why?
I've got a chunk of change saved up and want to use it for a down payment on a 3-4 unit multifamily property (of which one unit I would occupy) in the U.S. I have a second chunk of change set aside that I am thinking of investing in a REIT.
I'm not averse to the potential pitfalls of either these investments. And I'm not looking for rent vs. own advice. Thanks a mil.
For forums check out biggerpockets.com - they have a good podcast and some useful spreadsheets for analyzing a deal. They seem to have a big community/forum also.
MLS are generally accessible only to realtors but if you make a friend they may let you use their account. I heard of one guy that tells brokers he needs to do a lot of searches and doesn't want to bother then, but will buy through them when the time comes. Try to find brokers who write good listings (on places like loopnet.com) call them, convince them you are serious and get on their private buyer list so you are called or emailed as soon as they hear about a new property. Rinse and repeat with several brokers. They want to sell these properties before they even list them on MLS - that way they make more money and keep their buyers happy at the same time.
MLS are generally accessible only to realtors but if you make a friend they may let you use their account. I heard of one guy that tells brokers he needs to do a lot of searches and doesn't want to bother then, but will buy through them when the time comes. Try to find brokers who write good listings (on places like loopnet.com) call them, convince them you are serious and get on their private buyer list so you are called or emailed as soon as they hear about a new property. Rinse and repeat with several brokers. They want to sell these properties before they even list them on MLS - that way they make more money and keep their buyers happy at the same time.
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