The decision of where the market will grow can be approached in many ways. Presumably, where you live in the United States you usually lay the cornerstone, and the rest follows. For example, someone who lives in Florida may prefer to focus their efforts on the Southeast region of the United States, as opposed to someone in the Northwest who may find the Portland or Seattle markets more to their liking. It could also be said that the market itself will dictate where the activity is, and as such, someone who lives in Iowa City may find herself looking at markets that are a long way from where she lives. Many speculators, investors and flippers will literally travel to the ends of the earth to break into a market and initiate flip candidate opportunities. You could call these people equal opportunity flippers. Being a plane ride away is no obstacle for a truly dedicated investor who enjoys both the hunt and the chase.

In terms of preliminary market research, I recommend focusing on the markets that offer the most apparent advantage based on bona fide news accounts and real estate data. As a web font, try HomeBuilder. com and NewHomeSource.com to get started. Both sites will give you access to all fifty states and developer activity in those respective areas in terms of specific builders, sites, locations and cities, and what kind of houses and how many houses they are building, and prices. You should also use the large number of websites that offer free, in some cases, listings of preconstruction opportunities in various parts of the country. Just type the keywords into a search engine and you’re done. In terms of a fee-based membership, don’t turn those services down too quickly. Organizations like NREIA (National Real Estate Investment Association) and REIClub (Real Estate Investment Club) are well worth the nominal registration fee. I cannot underestimate the importance of leads, leads, leads!

This will be the lifeblood of your business and hopefully the latest organizations and sites just mentioned will give you a start in the right direction. However, keep in mind that not all preconstruction cables are created equal. Brokers, developers, and syndicators take advantage of these websites, clubs, and organizations to remain “inventory neutral,” and as a result, the pre-construction opportunities they advertise may not be great deals. In addition, offers presented on the Sites may not be geographically located within a market that is on an appreciation trajectory that meets the parameters of a quick offer. So make sure you do your research, research, research before you buy.

During the investigation you may encounter some obstacles. For example, there are some markets that are clearly anti-investor. This literally changes depending on whether it is a buyer’s market or a seller’s market. In a seller’s market, you will tend to find that builders are quite stingy with investors. Conversely, in a buyer’s market, things are reversed and the sellers/developers are much more generous and welcoming. Although there may be many legitimate reasons why a home builder will not sell to investors, many of the explanations are not good and do not make sense. It is a well known fact that investors are a hidden offer that you can always count on them to buy, however some builders refuse to sell homes to investors and/or limit the number of homes per development to a specific allocation for the investor activity. . My experience is that many builders will not allow investment because they are not investors themselves. These vice presidents up to the regional level are parsimonious and didactic with investors. Thus, a form of “buyer envy” sets in and just plain old jealousy dictates a “no investor” policy. No matter what the reasons, investors are forced to “lick their salty wounds” and egos and take advantage of other regional markets, checkbook in tow, who are investor-friendly and welcoming to their trade.