 Just buy in my town? (by Mike [MA]) Sep 18, 2014 9:01 AM
 Just buy in my town? (by BillS [CO]) Sep 18, 2014 9:36 AM
Just buy in my town? (by AllyM [NJ]) Sep 18, 2014 10:11 AM
Just buy in my town? (by AllyM [NJ]) Sep 18, 2014 10:11 AM
Just buy in my town? (by Nicole [PA]) Sep 18, 2014 11:08 AM
Just buy in my town? (by gevans [SC]) Sep 18, 2014 11:41 AM
Just buy in my town? (by Blue [IL]) Sep 18, 2014 11:46 AM
Just buy in my town? (by Pattyk [MO]) Sep 18, 2014 12:32 PM
Just buy in my town? (by Cathy [MO]) Sep 18, 2014 1:00 PM
Just buy in my town? (by frank [NY]) Sep 18, 2014 1:32 PM
Just buy in my town? (by Dan [MN]) Sep 18, 2014 1:44 PM
Just buy in my town? (by GKARL [PA]) Sep 18, 2014 3:06 PM
Just buy in my town? (by BRAD 20,000 [IN]) Sep 18, 2014 9:29 PM
Just buy in my town? (by Kim [WV]) Sep 19, 2014 3:33 AM
Just buy in my town? (by Dan [MA]) Sep 19, 2014 4:09 AM
Just buy in my town? (by Mike [MA]) Sep 19, 2014 6:28 AM
Just buy in my town? (by gevans [SC]) Sep 19, 2014 2:24 PM
Just buy in my town? (by Chris [CT]) Sep 22, 2014 7:00 PM
Just buy in my town? (by Mike [MA]) Posted on: Sep 18, 2014 9:01 AM
Message:
So I have a few rentals in different towns, my furthest being ½ hour away. I have to say that I really don’t like making the drive for service calls or even to check up on the property….but they cash flow well so it’s not all bad. I’m looking to buy three properties over the next five years (I know I may be slow for some people) however I’m thinking about making a big push in order to just buy all of my properties from here on out in my hometown. There are about 500 multi’s on record that would be in price range. I know it may be harder to find opportunities in one town but in the end I think it will be a lot less stress/work and in turn I can provide a better service to my tenants. Not to mention I know every street on the town and the good/bad areas. Does anyone do this? And if so have you found it hard to do so? Thanks!
--208.71.xxx.xxx |
Just buy in my town? (by BillS [CO]) Posted on: Sep 18, 2014 9:36 AM
Message:
My property must be within 20 minutes drive. I live in a large metro area. That requirement limits me to about 1/2 of the population. I understand you not wanting to drive but for me better deals within my radius would trump the added 15-20 min drive time. Get someone in the adjacent town to be your eyes and ears and find service people in those towns as well. You don't have to do it all. Find the deals and let (pay them) others provide the "service" to your tenants. --75.160.xxx.xxx |
Just buy in my town? (by AllyM [NJ]) Posted on: Sep 18, 2014 10:11 AM
Message:
My dad bought ten within two to three blocks and that has been a huge help. I am down to six units and I am glad they are nearby.
Olde Miss Ally --50.182.xxx.xx |
Just buy in my town? (by AllyM [NJ]) Posted on: Sep 18, 2014 10:11 AM
Message:
My dad bought ten within two to three blocks and that has been a huge help. I am down to six units and I am glad they are nearby.
Olde Miss Ally --50.182.xxx.xx |
Just buy in my town? (by Nicole [PA]) Posted on: Sep 18, 2014 11:08 AM
Message:
all mine are within 10 minutes of my home ... about 3 miles max. perfect for me for many reasons. --174.55.xxx.xxx |
Just buy in my town? (by gevans [SC]) Posted on: Sep 18, 2014 11:41 AM
Message:
Mine are all within 5 minutes. I used to have a couple 20 minutes away, but decided they wasted to much driving time, so I sold them.
I'm in a small town, and yes, it limits my growth, but I'm fine with that. --141.129.x.xx |
Just buy in my town? (by Blue [IL]) Posted on: Sep 18, 2014 11:46 AM
Message:
I have one 40 mins away and it's a pain in the neck, esp when trying to show it.
All the others I can walk to. Much easier. --75.132.xxx.xx |
Just buy in my town? (by Pattyk [MO]) Posted on: Sep 18, 2014 12:32 PM
Message:
I need the property to be within 5-8 miles of Lowe's or Homedepot. Important. --66.87.xx.xx |
Just buy in my town? (by Cathy [MO]) Posted on: Sep 18, 2014 1:00 PM
Message:
I think my units all 5 to 8 miles from Lowes and home depot too. but most are 20 miles away from home. --96.35.xx.xx |
Just buy in my town? (by frank [NY]) Posted on: Sep 18, 2014 1:32 PM
Message:
In theory the properties could be anywhere. Really depends on your business model. The more you do day to day with them the smaller the circle needs to be. However, if you outsource maintenance, rent collection and tenant placement then distance has little bearing.
That being said, there are deals to be had in your neck of the woods. like prospecting for gold, you need to go through alot of dirt before you find the gold. The better you can market your vacancies, and market to SELLERS for your acquisitions will determine your success. --108.21.xx.xx |
Just buy in my town? (by Dan [MN]) Posted on: Sep 18, 2014 1:44 PM
Message:
I'm with Frank, really depends on your model. If you're very hands-on - as it sounds like you are - then buying 30+ minutes away could get to be a hassle as you add units. If you don't mind outsourcing/delegating, then I'll bet you can find better deals as you expand your range. I delegate or automate just about everything now EXCEPT for showing the places (absolutely refuse to do the lockbox thing; that horse has been beat to death on the forum...and I don't want to give up ~10% of my rents to a PM) so that's the only time a "remote" place is a bit of a hassle. I also drive by the places every ~45 days as I'm out and about running errands, and do the smoke detector/furnace filter check every 6 months so I get inside the places.
As long as I choose my tenants carefully I feel I've got it down to a very manageable routine. And I work probably 60 hours/week, have a wife, two busy teenage kids (and two dogs) and fly 75k miles/year domestically. But if I was super hands-on, heck I wouldn't buy beyond a 5 mile radius. --69.67.xx.xxx |
Just buy in my town? (by GKARL [PA]) Posted on: Sep 18, 2014 3:06 PM
Message:
I prefer to manage the tenants directly. I handle minor repairs myself and delegate the larger repairs and/or stuff I don't want to do. I decided to stay in an area I'm familiar with and that's close by. I've got about a 15 minute drive to get to them from home and since I work in the town and am in the area daily anyway, that makes it real convenient, even when I delegate as I can use the same folks. --207.172.xx.x |
Just buy in my town? (by BRAD 20,000 [IN]) Posted on: Sep 18, 2014 9:29 PM
Message:
Mike,
My first test of any decision is
"How will this affect my FREEDOM!!!?"
I have a few that are only 16 minutes away and I find lots of reasons to procrastinate visiting them!
I work under the old phrase "Bloom where you are planted". There are sooo many deals within a town that I cannot get excited about going to the next town.
Focus your search and WE BUY marketing on your town and you'll start to see new opportunities.
Less travel time, less gas money, easier to find help, deeper knowledge of the area, more referrals because I'm around and visible, know the community leaders better (sheriff, judge, inspectors, utilities...)
I just talked to a LL assoc member in a nearby town of 1200 people. He has 50 rentals there and still buying. He only buys super low. Farmed right, one deal leads the the next. We have several houses is clumps because the neighbors sold to us.
-Brad --67.175.xx.xxx |
Just buy in my town? (by Kim [WV]) Posted on: Sep 19, 2014 3:33 AM
Message:
All of my rentals are less than 2 miles from my home. Not only do I like this, so do the people who do work for us. Just interviewed a new gardener/groundskeeper today and he remarked on how nice it was that everything was so close together. Makes everyone's job easier, not just mine. --173.81.xx.xxx |
Just buy in my town? (by Dan [MA]) Posted on: Sep 19, 2014 4:09 AM
Message:
I'm invested in two different cities and I'm working to change that. I find myself having to deal with the distance issue when we venture out to city #2 for repairs, showings, etc. I have two different sets of government to deal with. Each city has their own permitting requirements. There are two different boards of health to contend with. We've befriended one and got them to work well with us, while we haven't had enough time to build up the same relationship in the second city. Lots of duplicate effort dealing with two cities and two systems. That is why we are selling out of one city to focus all our efforts in one place. --64.197.xx.xx |
Just buy in my town? (by Mike [MA]) Posted on: Sep 19, 2014 6:28 AM
Message:
Everyone, a big thanks for commenting on my post with some great feedback on both sides! This is why I love this forum. I think I'm going to move forward with a big push to stay in my town. With my rentals farther away it feels like more of a job even if i'm farming out the work and that's certainly not why I got into this business. If I can make it work just in one town that would be unreal. --208.71.xxx.xxx |
Just buy in my town? (by gevans [SC]) Posted on: Sep 19, 2014 2:24 PM
Message:
I live in a fairly small town. All my rentals (10) have been collected over the last 15 years. So I guess I'm pretty slow too. But they are all within 5 minutes of my house.
I used to have a couple that were 20 minutes away, and I felt like I wasted way too much time driving back and forth. So I sold those and now only look at the really close ones. Thus my slow growth. But it works for me. --141.129.x.xx |
Just buy in my town? (by Chris [CT]) Posted on: Sep 22, 2014 7:00 PM
Message:
I only work in one city, never found the need to go outside of it.
I'm doing a good sized project right now and the house next door and the one across the street want to sell to me. Why go 30 min away?
The two best deals I have ever done are 500ft from my house! --32.210.xxx.xxx |
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