Best markets to start BRRRR'ing

[William Harrison]

Hey everyone! My wife and I are looking to start investing this quarter. We've saved 250k and would like to invest out of state while keeping our California jobs and renting here. We're considering using the BRRRR method to start out and would like to have a diverse real estate portfolio in both the hot markets and less expensive markets.

Is it best to start at the more expensive markets (Denver, Texas, North Carolina, Florida, Phoenix, etc) that’ll have a lower cash flow, better appreciation, and possibly more money to take out on refinance. Or start at the less expensive markets (Mid-West AR, IN, OH) with a higher cash flow, but little appreciation, and be able to get a few more properties? We’d like to be in both types of markets, but are trying to figure out which one would be the best to start in to maximize our portfolio and then scale, while also keeping in mind that the market might go down for which we need to be able to hold and have cash reserves. Would appreciate your advice!

[Jonathan Greene]

What do you want out of your first property? It doesn't seem like you need the cash flow right away so I would look at appreciating markets, not the hot markets. The towns behind the towns near the hot markets are where the big money is made. Can you buy in a major hot spot and appreciate? Sure. But would you do better finding the towns that are just starting to hit the radar? Yes, all day, every day. Right now, your focus is too wide. You just want to invest and build a portfolio. This puts you are risk for scammers and schemers telling you where to do something and for how much. Spend six months reading and interacting on these forums and in local meetups and clarify so you know what you want investment number one to be.