Lots of us in the real estate investment biz spend a lot of their time looking at screens, whether our desktop, laptop, tablet or phone screen. That’s good, of course, because that lets us communicate with clients, colleagues, and others, plus we can crunch numbers on current and potential deals.

One thing we realized this weekend was that it’s important to actually look at the areas you want to invest in, with your own eyes, in person.

Lee spends a lot of time evaluating properties in the Temple/Belton area, to the northwest of Cameron. But, as a hermit, he doesn’t get out much and actually look at what’s going on in the town. Now, I go there a couple times a month, at least, but I stick to the important spots between Cameron and Temple, such as Walker’s Honey Farm, Green’s Sausage House, and Lowe’s. (Also highlighted on the map is where the ranch beef gets processed.) In other words, I don’t visit the suburbs unless it’s to visit my coworker who lives there.

So, on Sunday, Lee and I rewarded ourselves after a long meeting (with each other, for our smaller business) with a trip to Temple. Instead of just going straight to a destination, we wandered from the incredibly crowded Buc-Ees (if you have never been to one, um, it’s an experience, a genuine tourist attraction) to all sorts of surrounding areas. More than once Lee said that the growth wasn’t in the pattern he thought it would be, and that the drive was worth it just to change his strategies in the area. This large-scale “driving for dollars” really paid off.

Things change fast in a lot of this area, and Temple seems poised for growth. We just have to figure out where it’s going and buy properties before everyone else does!