No, M&M also targets small investors. If you talk to them, they’ll send you the information. Just like a lot of realtors, they won’t turn you down. It’s just that their portfolio of properties consists of a lot of commercial and not a lot of SFRs and condos.
As for choosing the properties, it’s just a question of choosing an area (which involves research), see if it fits your needs (cash flow? appreciation? half-and-half?), and then seeing if the properties in that area can give you what you want and if you can get them at a good price.
My own strategy usually involves investing in properties that are near universities and military bases. While students and enlisted people are not the greatest tenants, usually there is a lot of support staff that goes along with them, and those are the people I target.
If you are going to be dealing with out-of-state properties, you really do need a property manager. Believe me you wouldn’t want to deal with that crap yourself. Of course, the problem is that you have to find a good one. Some investors prefer a live-in property manager, some prefer a business. I’ve had successes and problems with both so I can’t tell you which way to go.
My personal guess is that there are a lot of small investors (who have invested in +5 unit properties) in trouble and they have overleveraged properties. However, they are like the high end SFRs in San Diego, where they are better able to withstand market difficulties. So finding a deal can be hard, but not impossible. To find them you will need a good investor-realtor and/or M&M. Still, commercial residential properties between 5 units and $1million do not have a lot of investors so that is a factor on your side. With the lending problems nowadays, it is very difficult to get a loan and some investors have no choice but to try to sell the property because they cannot find someone to give them a loan.
