I was reading a blog today from Eric Barnes of "The Daily News" about Memphis, and in the blog he talks about how tirelessly Mayor Wharton is working both behind the scenes and out in front to promote the city of Memphis. At times, it seems like he is working as hard to promote Memphis to the outside world as well as to the Memphians themselves! I don't think we know yet how lucky we are to have Mayor Wharton in office.
Eric's blog points to a recent article in The New York Times about the culture, the food, the music and the history located right here in Memphis and how wonderful the city is to outside visitors. I love the city of Memphis and many of the quirks and locations that are often hidden in plain sight. I love telling others, especially those who live in the city how great I think Memphis is for raising kids, playing sports, getting outside and living life.
In my job however, I have a real tough time explaining to my fellow Memphians why Memphis is a great city for real estate investors. You see, we host investors on a weekly basis from around the country in our offices, who are coming to Memphis because of the HUGE advantages they get when they invest in Memphis real estate. They realize that San Diego, CA., Boston, MA., Allentown, PA., Chicago, IL. and Phoenix, AZ. do not have the same price points for the style of house they can purchase in Memphis. More over, they cannot purchase those properties in their home cities and still turn a positive cash flow. They also realize that by investing in a great city like Memphis, with a company like MemphisInvest.com, they have a long-term partner working with them to build a strong portfolio.
Over the last few years, as the economy has soured, Memphis has improved dramatically as a real estate investment alternative and many investment properties in Memphis provide a steady investment return for investors today. Those investors from around the country that fly into Memphis every week, see investment properties in Memphis as an absolute "gold mine" when compared to other similar cities.
With Memphis' diverse culture, steady job opportunities, abundant affordable housing, bright outlook for sustainable job creation, proximity to higher education and location as the distribution HUB for the United States; the city has a bright future for those that choose to invest in it's neighborhoods and people.
Now if we could only get more Memphians to understand what outside investors already know!!
Invest in your city, in the people and invest in the neighborhoods. Lift the city up and help remove it from all the lists that have shone a dim light on Memphis in the recent past. I can tell you from experience that real estate investing is not always easy and can be fraught with peril if you do not have a plan. I have been burned as a real estate investor and have lost money as well as made money. But those experiences, good and bad, are what give me the insight and the knowledge and the desire to get let everyone know how great our city is. An investment in the future of Memphis will not only pay off as a smart investment, it will rebuild our city!
Check out Eric Barnes' blog post if you get a chance and read the articles that he sights about Memphis. If enough of us believe in the city and its future, I promise more will get on board and we can help our industries, our leaders, our government and the entire city reach its' potential.
Chris
