Location Scouting: How We Bought a Real-Life Waterfall

Location scouting is one of the most exciting parts of real estate investing—especially when it leads you to something as unbelievable as this.

Recently, our family celebrated a pretty incredible milestone. Through an off-market deal and a little adventurous spirit, we became the proud owners of a real-life waterfall. Yup—42 feet of spring-fed, ice-cold water pouring over a cliff… and it’s now part of our property.

It’s tucked away on 40 acres of untouched land. It wasn’t on any listing site. In fact, hardly anyone even knew it existed.

Here’s how the discovery happened:
We found the property on a Wednesday. By Friday, we drove 11 hours to see it. We hiked for three hours on Saturday, submitted an offer, negotiated Sunday, and went under contract Monday.

What in the actual lottery, Batman?! 😲

Sure, we went a bit out of order. But sometimes in real estate—especially when location scouting—you’ve got to be ready to act fast.

The Ideal Location Scouting Process

If we were following a structured approach to location scouting, here’s how it would’ve gone:

1️⃣ Decide on a market
2️⃣ Research that market (is it over/undersaturated?)
3️⃣ Run a market analysis
4️⃣ Pinpoint your Unique Value Proposition (UVP) for that market
5️⃣ Start location scouting

Instead, we found the property first, then did the market research.

If at all possible, go in the recommended order. Understanding a market’s dynamics helps you make sharper, more confident decisions when scouting and submitting offers.

My Location Scouting Checklist

Once I find a promising spot, I run through my checklist. Ideally, the property should hit at least 90% of these criteria:

• Is it 30–45 minutes from a major metropolitan area?
• Are there 2–3 quality restaurants nearby?
• Does the area attract tourism?
• Is it 20–25 minutes from a reputable hotel chain or resort—or are there plenty of Airbnbs nearby?
• Is the drive scenic?
• Are the roads smooth and easily accessible?
• What are the property’s standout features?
• Can it hold guests’ attention without needing to leave the site?
• Are there good build sites?
• Will I have access to utilities?

For example, if the area lacks nearby lodging, could I build on-site cabins and add a new revenue stream?

Firm in the goal, flexible in the method.

What’s on your list when it comes to location scouting?

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