Deciding to buy property

Location, location, location

But look for a spot with a great/functional location and good proximity to interstate/highway.

It depends on why you want to acquire a property. Living or investment?

If you want to buy for living you should consider your personal circumstances such as family, proximity to work, proximity to kids´school, whether you prefer to live in a residential area or nearer a financial district, etc. I´d say you just need to take some time answering these questions to figure out what property is best for you.

If, on the other hand, your plans are acquiring a property as part of your investment portfolio I would care only about location as the guy above said. Now, it is a good time for real estate but do not be tempted to buy a brand-new apartment in a shitty location. In the end, properties in good locations never lose their value over the long-run.

Well, this is actually a part of an investment. I will take your advice to look for better location. Hopefully I could find a good one but still at an affordable price.

Not a RE guy, but I would say like any other financial decision, if you put your money to work can you reasonably expect to make money (further is that money going to be more than say just letting it ride on the QQQ or SPY), and in a downside scenario are you at least going to make your initial investment back.

I agree that location is a huge factor in choosing a property but in the end if you have to pay through the nose during a the peak of a cycle for proximity to "town/city stuff", and then a year later cant rent the place for more than your mortgage + maintenance, and now you're underwater, you might as well have started a fire with your money.

As a long term investor who has seen (participated in) many cycles, some other things to consider are liquidity, exit plan and carry cost. Be very clear on why you're doing this, what you're expectations are, and real risks.

Your carry cost will ALWAYS be more than you think (things break, rates change, tenants move out, etc.) and it will ALWAYS take you longer to sell to get your price. It just is.

RE is a good non-correlated (to the stock market) investment but is not without risk. Just understand what you're getting in to.

Have owned a decent amount of commercial RE for the past 20 yrs. Some absolute Home Runs (50 - 100% real ROR in a 2 yr period) . Some real Clunkers including 3 that we've been trying to unload (even at a loss to just eliminate carry cost) for three yrs.

Just make sure you are liquid enough to fight the good fight

Given the depth of your question and regardless of product type (mf, ind, off, ret...class A,B,C), deal size (x100M), business plan (core/+, va, opp/dev), deal structure (timing, pref rates, cap stack) and geo focus (+1 to REEacquisitions), the most important thing to look for when searching for potential properties is an experienced broker who you can trust. If you lack the experience to make an informed decision, leave it to the pros.

1. Location
2. Location
3. Location - yes it's that important
4. Neighborhood - do people keep pet alligators, for example? or Pythons?
5. HOA rules & fees - those people can be nuts; no great deal is worth the grief
6. Plot - trees? topography? south facing? etc...
7. Price - first three bullets have a lot to do with this; don't overstretch and stay within limits
8. Annual Taxes - some places, like Illinois, think their shit don't stink; circa 1% MV is enough