Real Estate Buyers: What Type Are You?

Married with Kids

Single Female
Single Male
Unmarried Couple
First-time Buyers
Repeat Buyers
Buyers Purchasing Multi-Generational Housing
Buyers Purchasing Senior or Active Adult Community Housing

Find out what kind of buyer you are here.  

On a discussion of whether to buy a home to be in a good school district, see this:

I would wager that all things being equal, if the neighborhood is the same with the only difference being a "better" school district, the only significant factor to most tenants is the monthly rental cost. They are tenants for a reason for the most part, excluding folks like executives on a relo package waiting a year to find the right house to buy. Long term tenants will NOT pay higher rents JUST to get their kids in a better school. The day to day expenses are more of a concern. Same house, same neighborhood, cheaper rent, but mediocre school = tenant signing the lease.

Another commenter:

"I do not rent to students, but benefit from their demand."AMEN!  

Have you thought about buying to rent in towns with major established hospitals?

That said, Avoid young nurses and doctors just as much as Students!  

Adding . . .  

Why not a town with both a university and a hospital?

 Depending on one's age, it's important to avoid towns so small that the nearest hospital is an hour way. One solution would be small-to-medium sized towns with a university that includes a medical school (that runs a hospital).  Also, try to find a college town where new graduates want to continue living there.  A small, but significant number of them will state successful businesses that give the place more stability.  

 So there's that.  

from Investopedia

Prospective buyers have an edge in a down market, but this doesn't mean they are guaranteed to make money on the properties they buy.  When real estate sales are slow and there is a glut of homes for sale, buyers have an opportunity to pick up a house on the cheap.  The operative word here is opportunity.  There are times when you should pounce and times when you should show restraint and avoid an impulse buy. Knowing the difference could save you thousands of dollars.  

This was helpful . . . 

Before you even start considering locations, you need to figure out why you're investing and what your objective is. Some markets are great for appreciation but not so great for cash flow. Others produce great cash flow but appreciate at about the same rate as the end of the last ice age. Deciding which is most important to you is the starting point. You'll also want to identify some basic criteria. Some investors will only buy homes of a particular age. If you won't buy a home more than 20 years old then you probably want to avoid Pottsville, PA where the median age of a home is the oldest in the nation. Once you've defined your goals, then you're ready to start figuring out what cities or areas will fit those goals. It's a big country so where do you start?