Episode #168 – In this episode learn why real estate investors should invest in strong towns – i.e. the ones that will survive and thrive over the long term. Strong Towns is a movement to help towns and cities across the county become more vibrant and financially resilient.
In this interview with Strong Towns founder Chuck Marohn, you’ll learn what makes a strong town, where the best investment opportunities are, what hidden financial problems many towns are facing, and how you can make a difference in your town as a concerned citizen and small real estate investor.
Companion article/show notes: coachcarson.com/strongtowns
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Connect with Strong Towns:
- book: Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity
- website: https://www.strongtowns.org/
- Strong Towns Podcast
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Curt Smith says
Hi Chad, I was glad to hear Chuck’s advocation for making smarter town/city zoning and design decissions. I live in Atlanta that tore down anything of people value and built insanely ugly tall office buildings way back, which as Chuck predicted killed Atlanta’s down town future. I was challenging myself to think of a list of cities that ARE / HAVE made good decissions re zoning, development. I recently visited for a few days each: Memphis TN, New Orleans LA, both have compact down towns with great stuff to do and walkable to residential areas right off down town! Also Chattanooga my favorite city to both visit and to buy rentals in, even though I live in Atlanta. LOL Chuck made me think about how I found the small towns we bought rentals in…. We ended up calling it the “investors (me) restaurant index”. If there where nice restaurants for my wife and I to eat at for a lunch / dinner when we are working on a house; POOF buy there. If not, then don’t buy there. The worst mistake place we bought a rental in was Albany GA…. ;( It ended up so bad due to the lack of jobs and owners who could invision themselves as owners that renting failed, rent to own failed. I ended up dumping that house for about what we bought it for sold to the neighbor.. The best place we bought was: Norcross GA great downtown and restaurants and great schools, also Chattanooga insanely great restaurant AND living scene, where there’s today a shortage of rentals to buy, but if you own they will go up up up due to Chuck’s description of a good town to buy in.
What is needed is helps for us investors who can invest in areas outside out current foot prints, how to find more “good towns” making good decissions about improving their “livability index”? How, or is there a list of towns??
If no list today, I’ll not forget this interview’s points; check out the down town is it vibrant? Brew pubs, every store front filled with a cute business. Can you walk to housing?
I agree that the current Wall Street financed movement to fill every area with 5 story condo/apartment buildings, one after another, a wall of condos/apartments? I hate those areas now. Thanks to Chuck even more so. But on the plus side; when I see that kind of mega housing development I know that buying and fixing SFRs will do great. A family will always pick an SFR (3/2) over an apartment, every time! I don’t worry about competition, rather the walmart site location indicator; those 5 story condo developments means big money has decided that there’s population and jobs growth, even though I’d prefer medium sized towns following Chuck’s livable index model to buy SFRs in,,, or a SFH in. 🙂
Thank you Chad and Chuck! Nice future looking topic. Curt