The popular belief is that you cannot make money on $30,000 properties, but you should completely throw that perception out the window. No, we’re not talking about war zones, we’re not talking about the ghetto, we’re not talking C and D-class properties. We’re talking about solid B-class investment properties. The markets are not sexy, and they’re not flashy. They are blue-collar, working class areas. There is a level of demand there, you have infrastructure like hospitals and big employers, there is stuff happening in the area, good school districts. We’re all making money all day every day.
Unfortunately, there is a perception that any $20,000 or $30,000 house has to be a dilapidated property, a meth lab, or a vacant lot someone is trying to use to scam you. Look, that is true in some cases, but in other instances, like where I am investing, that is not accurate.
B-Class, Blue-Collar Areas
A few key pockets that you can research would be in Ohio. Number two is Indiana, number three is Michigan, number four is Missouri, and number five is Kansas. The Midwest in general is where you can find $20,000 and $30,000 houses that you can put some work into and get a good return on investment or sell for a profit.
Let me give you an example of what you can do in these particular areas. The first thing you need to do is find the right people. So be sure to spend enough time on the people that you are looking at working with over the stats and demographics of a particular area or over how cheaply you can buy a particular property. Don’t settle until you find the right people. Second, pick a particular area and make sure you zone in on a particular zip code or a few. Educate yourself on the numbers in those areas, what distressed properties are selling for, what renovated comps are selling for, and who’s who in that area, from top real estate agents to rehabbers. You really have to master this particular area. You need to know the ins and outs of what is going on, who’s buying what, and who’s doing what. Then you will also understand what the properties are selling for both renovated and distressed.
Consistency in Sales Price
A really good indicator of a B-class area is consistency in the sales price of a renovated product. Let me give you an example. There are areas throughout the US, we can buy properties for $10,000, $20,000, or $30,000 depending on the condition, fix them up, and sell them from $60,000 to $70,000. When you see consistency in that after-rehab sale price within a region, you can tell that there are sales happening in the area and that people are investing either to buy and hold or to buy and live in. So that should indicate a decent type of area or B-class area in my opinion.
With all of that being said, when you’re investing in $20,000 or $30,000 properties, you have a few options. I think there are two strategies. First, you can buy, fix, and hold because it’s such a low investment amount and the cap rate is so high—and since you’re investing a low amount of money, the risk is worth the reward. Second, you can buy, fix, and sell. You can sell it to an investor because the numbers make sense for an investor to want to buy and hold, or you can sell to an owner-occupant. Yes, there are owner-occupants living in $20,000 or $30,000 houses. Now, of course, you are buying it for $20,000 or $30,000, and you’re selling it for a little bit more that that. So you will make money. There is no doubt about it.