When it comes to investment, absence doesn't make the heart grow fonder. Somehow, we are prone to think that the grass is greener in the other fellow's yard. The problem with trying to achieve something outside your own area is that there will be competitors waiting there to guard their territory.
I can remember, as a young paper-boy, the scraps I used to get into trying to sell newspapers on another fellows street corner. The same thing happens when you move investments into another area. Many a would-be entrepreneur has failed trying to beat the other fellow on his turf and in his game.
In order to overcome the local competition, you've got to either relocate to the new area and learn the ropes or become a commuter, taking your chances on being able to create more money in the new area than on your old familiar stomping grounds. Furthermore, you'll probably have to seek out professionals
schooled in the law as it might apply to another area, as well as agents there to buy, sell, or manage your properties.
The net result of this is that, while the grass may indeed be greener, it could also be a lot more expensive. The properties we acquire in remote locales must be able to produce as much as 50% more cash flow than properties in our own area just to pay for all the inefficiency and costs that accompany remote property investment.
Almost 100 years ago, an orator on the old Orpheum Circuit used to make a set speech called 'Acres of Diamonds' in which he made the following points:
1. Opportunity is not so much a matter of geography as it is of perception.
2. Failure to seek out opportunity in your own locale may indeed be merely an excuse to fail to try rather than an economic fact of life.
3. There are myriad fortunes to be made in everyone's own back yard for the person who earnestly sets that as his or her objective; and who prepares by obtaining the education, skills, experience, and work habits that success requires.
Unless there are particular reasons why you want to invest in another area, such as your intent to move there or you have reliable family members or close friends in the area who are willing, and who have the energy and ability, to perform much of the work, keep your investments close to home if you want to
increase your chances of financial success and reduce risk of loss.
This is an excerpt from Jack Miller's book SUCCESS SECRETS which is available for only $12.95 in the CashFlowDepot.com store.
