It Is True What They Say: Location, Location, Location! It
is such a trite old statement; But there is a reason why
sayings get old and trite. They are true!
As a new real estate investor beginning your investment
career you will have dozens of decisions to make and we
will be there to help you make the right ones and, while it
might cost money, it might cost time; you can correct most
of your missteps.
There is nothing in real estate as permanent as location.
So one of your first steps in your new career as a Real
Estate Investor is to learn everything you can about the
area or areas where you hope to invest.
If your initial goal is to "buy an investment property in
Cleveland" you have already bitten off more than you can
chew. Right now there are 16,853 homes for sale in
Cleveland with prices ranging from $1,500 to over $3
million.
Every Real Estate Investor must narrow his/her focus.
How much do you really know about Cleveland? Whatever it
is, it isn't enough. You might have lived on the shores of
Lake Erie your entire life, but how familiar are you with
the 99.9 percent of the city where you don't live?
You need a plan. Here's a small sample of what this might
entail.
1. Narrow your search to a few
2. Keep your eyes and ears open for any and all news about
your target location(s)
3. Take a Grand Tour
4. Record Your Findings
Narrow Your Search to a Few Pick three areas that strike
you as possibilities even if you don't have a real reason.
Perhaps one is a neighborhood that you find attractive;
another where a friend lives happily. Maybe the name sounds
romantic or stately or it is convenient to your own home or
office. This is not a final decision; a neighborhood you
used to love in childhood may have deteriorated badly in
the last few years or become so posh you can't possibly
afford it. Now you either have two neighborhoods left to
research or room to add another to your list.
Keep Your Eyes and Ears Open
This can be fun. Talk to everyone you know about your
neighborhood choices. Strike up conversations at work, at
PTA meetings, Home Depot, cocktail parties. Everyone loves
to give advice so ask for some: "I'm thinking about buying
a house in Cherrydale Village. Do you know anything about
that area?"
Take a Grand Tour
Even before you narrow your focus to a few neighborhoods
get in your car and meander through every area in your town
that seems even vaguely interesting. Once your two or three
target neighborhoods are identified, make it a point to
drive through each at different times of the day and night.
Record Your Findings
This needn't be anything fancy; it can be a few notes on a
yellow legal pad or an Excel spreadsheet, but unless you
memorialize what you have learned it will soon turn to mush
in your head. A data base will help to inform your property
decisions not only for your first house but for the 51st if
you keep it current.
This is your reference so put into it whatever information
will be most helpful to you. However, here is a condensed
outline to get you started.
• Neighborhood name
• Approximate boundaries or list of street names;
• Age of most buildings
• Number of houses for sale and the price range
• School info
• Amenities
• Access to shopping, schools, churches, parks.
• Public transportation,
• Noise levels
• Traffic levels
• Negative info (i.e. pending negative development,
crime.)
• Positive info (neighborhood ambience, increasing
investor interest.)
To keep it simple, rank those items that can not be
explained with a yes or a no on a five or a ten point scale.
----------------------------------------------------
Chris Parks is a Real Estate Investor who has been involved
in Real Estate in one capacity or another since the mid
1980s. As a member of a small group of Real Estate
Investors & Entrepreneurs, and always having the knack for
explaining Real Estate Basics in an easy to understand
manner, Chris created REI for Newbies in order to teach &
assist new Real Estate Investors in a step-by-step,
easy-to-understand manner. http://www.REIforNewbies.com
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