As a new independent angel investor, how will I find new companies to invest in?

I can set you up with some hotels. 

For example, get onto Loopnet, and look at some Microtels. A Microtel in good condition is a good quality, if modest, mid-market hotel product. But they have historically been marketed and promoted as 'economy' properties - even in areas where they could easily command a higher rate, where the only nearby hotels and motels that charge approximately the same for a room are older and of much inferior quality. Wyndham Hotel Group is now getting away from that, but the franchisees aren't catching up.

So, Microtels tend to be undervalued.

Why do real estate companies prefer not to rent real estate, instead of renting it for less?

Perceived value, preservation of the desired price point of the rental rate, and actual value of the property when income or cash flow is a factor in calculating its value.



I run a hotel where the rooms go for $100 per night.  I might be able to rent a few more rooms each night if I lowered the rate, but if I rent too many rooms at $75 per night, for example, then I'm now running a $75-per-night hotel instead of a $100-per-night hotel, it becomes very difficult if not impossible to find people willing to pay $100 per night if that many people are paying only $75 - and the value of the hotel itself has instantly declined by 25%. (One  of the most commonly accepted means of valuing a hotel as a real estate  investment is a multiple of its annual room revenue. For many hotels, 25% of their value can be a a million bucks or more.)