My Investment Criteria

Have you ever thought about what makes a good investment? Do you have any idea what kind of property you should buy if you wanted to invest in real estate? If someone offered you a 3-bdrm., brick ranch with 1,100 sq. ft. of living space for $139,000 how would you know if it was a good investment? Is that a good price? Too high? Too low?

The best time to think about these things is before the opportunity presents itself to you. So, if you're thinking of getting into real estate investing, you really have to study the neighborhoods in which you plan to invest and you need to know what the houses are selling for right now -- not what they sold for 8 months ago.

Many investors have their own personal criteria for investment purposes. There are different criteria for rentals and different criteria for flips. I have outlined my criteria for flips (see below), but these aren't etched in stone. I can be flexible on some issues while rigid on others. But it's very important to have a starting point so that if you're going to use a Realtor to find houses for you, they know what you're looking for.


Here is my list ...

After Repair Value (ARV) = $100K - $180K (based on recent (90-120 days) comps.)
Located INSIDE subdivision (no major roads)
Basement (no slabs or crawls)
Garage
Brick Exterior
Ranch, Colonial, or Cape Cod
3-4 Bedrooms
1-1/2 Baths

Areas of interest:

As far west as I-275
As far east as Jefferson
As far as 4 miles north of I-696
As far as 4 miles south of 8 Mile Rd

Also interested in the following specific areas:

Clinton Township
Mt. Clemens
St. Clair Shores
Fraser
Roseville
Warren
Center Line
Sterling Heights
Oak Park
Rosedale Park (Detroit)

NOTE: I live in northern Clinton Twp. (M-59 and Romeo Plank) but I work in Novi (8 Mile and I-275) Therefore, I have a wide range of possibilities for investment because I drive past such a wide range of cities.

If you happen to find something that fits these criteria and you don't have an interest in investing in it for yourself, please let me know about it. If it seems like a good deal and I purchase it, I'll gladly give you a "finder's fee!"