Cities near San Jose, CA with rental properties for $100K

[Nav Singh]

Hello members,

This is my first post.

I'm planning to buy my first property to give out for rental. My budget is about $100K purchase price, financed with a conventional loan. I live near San Jose, CA where property prices are sky high. I started looking at out of state properties (e.g. in TN or AL) and even ran the numbers on a few properties (positive cash flow), but I heard in the BiggerPockets podcasts again and again that you should invest in a property that is within driving distance. So now I'm looking for cities in about 2-hour radius of San Jose where I can buy a decent rental property for about $100K.

Know any such cities? Are Modesto / Fresno / Merced good cities?

Don't hesitate to critique my approach. Better to hear criticism now than make a mistake and regret later.

Nav.

[Account Closed]

Those people that say you should invest close to home typically don't live in expensive markets like San Jose. If your interested in investing for appreciation then San Jose is probably your best bet. BUT it's dam near impossible to get a start around here with such high purchase prices. I live here and tried to invest with a condo in Milpitas and a townhouse in Gilroy and failed miserably. I've now made the leap to out of state investing for cash flow and suddenly it all makes sense to me. I use reputable turnkey companies in Indianapolis and Birmingham that help me in more ways then one. Tirnkey companies are a one stop shop for real estate. They can find, rehab, sell, manage, and network for you with all aspects of real estate. They are also a great resource for information on the local market and in my case were a definitely asset to help me learn the basics of investing.