hi,
I am thinking about moving to new orleans, but I’m also interested in maybe getting started in REI for rentals. just curious what the market is like down there. or does it even matter all that much which city one invests in simple houses or duplexes in?
thanks!
Yes it matters! In rental property, cashflow is the absolute KING! I’m in northern Louisiana and get great cashflows up here. I don’t know much of anything about the New Orleans market (well, except that you’re gonna need flood insurance!)…
There are places like California, New York, Washington, Las Vegas, etc. where I cannot see anyway to make the cashflow positive. The purchase prices have way outstripped the rental income that they will generate.
Keith
“There are places like California, New York, Washington, Las Vegas, etc. where I cannot see anyway to make the cashflow positive”.
Is that WA D.C. or WA State?
LOL…YES!!! Pick one…same/same. My step daughter is in Seattle, makes 6-figures and can’t really afford a house. Rent is high there though.
Keith
Keith-
King County (Seattle) IS NOT Builder friendly. Thanks to King County Building Moritoriums…there’s a lack of affordable housing (imbalance in supply vs demand).
However, Pierce (to the south of King County) & Snohomish (to the north) ARE Builder friendly, and as a result these areas are better suited for Investors.
You can still get some properties to cash flow in those areas if you’re putting little down to nothing down.
However, properties are appreciating quickly with a bright future for a few years out.
I don’t rehab, but finding a competitively priced property in a good neighborhood initally, renting it & then selling it within 12 months could make you some pretty good coin.
Our last investment has appreciated some $25,000 since March 28th. $250 a day & all we had to do was vacuum & mow the lawn. We’re putting a whopping $20 in our pocket ea. month to boot!
-Infowell
I really meant Washington, DC where the appreciation is like that and the rents are relatively stagnant.
Keith
“I really meant Washington, DC”
Now ya tell me! 
Washington DC/Baltimore looks like a good emerging region.
Emerging? INTO WHAT???
I think that if you worked a it you could do OK in Baltimore…the greater DC area is outta control. You can’t afford a cardboard box to live in – that’s $250K!
There’s a guy here where I work…his wife worked here and she just moved to DC to work. He’s going to sell their house and then go there, too. He is contemplating living in Harpers Ferry, WV because that is all they can afford (they are both fairly senior Federal government workers)…Great idea! That’s only 70 miles each way through traffic that is only rivaled by Los Angeles! Buy a nice car because you’re going to live in it at LEAST 4 hours a day! But, they can find a house under $300K there.
In the District, you can find houses to refurb and resell but you need a gun with you…ooops, wait, no guns in DC – except for the bad guys! And wait until you get the first tax bill and then see what a trainwreck the public services are for the taxes paid. But, you DO get lead in the water for no extra charge (unless they find a way to measure and tax it!)…and once the potholes get as big as your car, they will consider having a look at them.
It is crazy there – I moved!
Keith