I am going through these 144 pages so please excuse me if this question was already answered.
I attended an RE club meeting (will be joining), read a lot, etc., and a lot of people are buying houses in the city to fix up, rent and/or sell.
Everything I have learned so far says stick to the location that you know. Well, I do not know the city and actually have no interest in knowing the city, especially the areas with the dirt cheap houses.
I do, however, know the county and the desirable areas with good schools. Of course, these areas are more expensive. I still believe there are fixer-uppers in these areas and would prefer to work in the county.
Has anyone started like this or can point me in the right direction? Is this all just a matter of money because I can be pretty creative financially.
Thanks!
I buy where the deals are not only in my backyard. If you are looking at deals in your county is that not your area? Or are these in another state?
Robb
Hi Robb,
Actually, I feel confident buying in 3 counties. Oh yes I live in 1 of them. But I hear ya. Being a woman I just don’t feel comfortable going into the bad parts of the city no matter how good the deal is.
The deals in the county are harder to come by because sellers are still getting asking price even for fixer-uppers. I suppose now is the time to get creative and start marketing like heck. Plus, the gov’t is adding thousands of jobs in this area so the people have to live somewhere! 
GC
sticking to your location is the easy way out.
i’m buying homes between 650 miles and 2,500 miles away. if you’re willing to spend the time doing the research and developing the contacts you can do anything from a distance.
gotcats,
I went through the same thought process. Many of my investors want the fixer upper that is close to home, built after 2000, less than $125,000 with only cosmetic repairs. The reality is that while they wait and wait for the perfect home others are getting rich. One day it hit me. I could buy one $90,000 home fix it and make $15,000, or I could buy 3 $30,000 homes and make $45,000. Yes, college finally paid off for me. I was always good at math Ha. In my neck of the woods most homes priced 30k and below are in the city and yes people were buying them. Seems also that there are more bank owned properties in the city. Is this true for you. check it out.
-h
Housebroken,
Good point! In fact I was on the section 8 housing website and for a 3 bedroom, fair market rent is $1281 (unless I am interpreting this wrong).
Now, a $60 house ($30 is pushing it without a severe rehab), this could create a good cash flow. This number does not go up in the county, so cash flow would be significantly less.
H - when you buy these $30 houses, do you keep them and rent them or do you flip them right away?
Thanks!
I do both. I have my eye on certain neighborhoods. Some are exclusively buy and hold because they are going through revitalization and mostly investors buying. I only keep properties that generate $250-$300 of monthly cash flow. Earlier this year I bought a 3200 sf home in a desirable neighborhood in the city. I put out 25 hand written bandit signs hoping for a quick sale. Had my open house and 2 people showed up. It was depressing. Up to that point I didn’t have a nickel in the property. Hadn’t even turned on utilities. I listed the property on the mls “as-is.” My contractor estimated the cost to rehab just over $20K. The property sold 24 days later and a couple of days before I was going to start my rehab. I netted $22k on the deal. I love when that happens. Sometimes I’m not that fortunate. If I’m unsure of an area, I may put two signs in the yard at the same time. For sale and for rent or rent to buy. Take whatever comes first. Turn your properties quickly.
-h
We look for the needle in the haystack.Every town in america is a hay stack and every town has a needle.The question is do you know how to recognize the needle in that particular town as all the needles are different in color size and shape. A deal is a deal regardless of where it is.Can I make money in the hood? Can I make money in the uppercrust ?Can I make money in the middle of the road? Yes ,Yes ,Yes,If a 3 bed 2 bath home in a town averages in price of K120K and you find one at 40k regardless of the fact it needs $25k in rehab. its a deal. I have a realtor telling me not to buy this farm Im looking at which is listed for $42,900 because it needs $50k in rehab and has been on the market for 31/2 years. Its a 3/2 brick home with a 40x 100 barn on 13 acres. In the same breath she tells me she was at the bank in the morning and she cant believe the lady she was with was paying $128k for a 3/2 modular on 13 acres.Point is …some people are just tunnelvisioned into old school of I must sell a house that is in move in shape and I must only show homes in move in shape. Especially in these small towns.