Where is the soundest state/county to invest in America?

I'm sure there are opportunities to make money everywhere in the US at the moment. The problem is that to invest there successfully you need to do more than buy well. Finance is difficult, as is property management, and it would be very difficult for someone offering a service over there to solve these issues for their clients in every market, or for an individual to solve them for themselves. Also, some markets are more depressed than others and there are very different financial landscapes in different areas. If you find an attactive market and can solve the issues that have affected Australian investors over there for years then there is no need to look anywhere else.

i think california is the best place to buy a new property , or secondly i would say vegs is the city if you really want to rent your property after buying .

I have herd both cases about Las Vegas.
Its hard to say but from my research the condos don’t do that well but medium to large family homes do well and rent out easily.
Warm climate, many tourists…… some of my research shows a declining population with a high percentage of jobless people and then again some says a growing population …… so who the hell knows……….

I don't always agree with Nigel's posts but in regards to Vegas I think he is 100% correct. 

Having a quiet day here and spending time checking out the various sites and data available.  Seems many States have slowed their decline and 2011 is not expected to be very bright as expected.  I'm still very happy with my investment plan and will continue to purchase.  Kansas City does look good but it is not in my target area.

I can not agree more – it is a very different market place that what we are used to in Australia. It is a different mentality in comparison to Oz.

You have to know what you are doing and yes be very careful of buying direct through real estate agents over there as they will just sell you what ever they can for a commission – they don't really care what you buy.

It seems that there are some buyers agents who have been in the game for a while and are finding good deals for people with high returns in reasonable cities and areas. Do your research as there are some unbelievable deals out there at present that you just can't walk past. Huge 4 bedroom houses for $50K in reasonable areas with very good rental returns.

i am actually 1 of the largest home buyers in kansas city. i buy 5-15 properties a month that we rehab, place tenants and sell to investors globally. i actually bought 20 properties in December. we also have a property management company and manage approx 400 properties in the kansas city area. our returns are based upon risk. higher risk urban neighborhoods will have much higher returns than “A” properties in “A” neighborhoods.
our website is http://www.morekc.com.
let me know if i can assist.

i am not familiar with the topeka market. really any market can be profitable if you have the proper power team in place. where people get into trouble investing is buying the wrong property, hiring bad contractors, over/under rehabbing for the market and having lousy property management. every property looks good on a pro-forma. its actually achieving the numbers that is sometimes hard.

Hi mattnz,

I am really keen to hear more from you as to why those 2 Texas cities are your favourites. It obviously depends on your investment strategy and risk profile.

Texas’ employment figures and economy impress me (compared to Florida for instance), so I see it as a relatively “safe” investment. But I am having trouble seeing where the high ROI can come from with their relatively higher purchases, and where the opportunity is for high capital growth (as you say, they have not had the boom-bust cycle of other cities). You may well have research that proves my beliefs on these 2 matters unfounded…….

May I ask, if you have purchased properties there, what price range were they in, and what ROI are you achieving? And is that with section 8 tenants?

Cheers, TH

I have recently joined and at the moment am acquiring information as to how investors view markets in various countries. I live in England and have looked at companies here to see what they are offering to potential and seasoned investors and there seems to be a growing trend for properties and land in the USA. One of the companies I talked with have an extensive knowledge and flexible options on what I wanted to achieve with my investing plans and although I haven’t committed yet, (which is due to my over zealous need for information ha!) I was impressed with their procedure and manner towards my lack of experience. And as a new investor seeking good opportunities, the one area that scares me is the lack of experience and that is why I join groups to see peoples experiences and learn. I would welcome any feedback regarding experiences and/or advice from seasoned investors.