Have a goal but need a plan

[Robin McMullen]

Hello! Just starting out, trying to learn as much as I can, Biggerpockets has been so imformative and the community seems so supportive. 

My husband and I are in our early 40s and we are ready to make a change from working full time to living off of real estate investments. Two years ago we decided to accept employment overseas because it is allowing us to save 60k a year. We plan to work in our current positions until we are able to invest in real estate that would provide us with 15-20K a month in cash income (after all expenses). At the moment we are trying to put together the best plan possible to reach our goal. I'm hoping that some of you might have some advice for us for our plan moving forward.

We are from N. California and know the area quite well, however we are open to learning about and investing in other areas of the US. 

We are currently living overseas so getting started in purchasing properties is a little difficult (though we have around three months a year off and are able to travel back to the states). 

So far we have planned to stay at our positions for five years which will give us 300K to work with. We have been looking into SFR, multifamily buildings, self storage facilities, we are open to whatever will help us reach our goal.

I have a couple specific questions and welcome any other advice or ideas.

1. Our savings is currently in a savings account earning essentially nothing, is there a better place to put our savings until we are ready to put it into real estate?

2. Is 300K cash investment a realistic amount to potentially earning 15-20K a month?

3. Any specific books/resources recommended?

Thank you in advance for any advice!

[JR T.]

Hello and welcome to BP! 300k is absolutely not enough to make 15-20k a month in net income. In California real estate you'll do somewhere between $1200 - 1600 a month on that investment --- supposing you make a good first investment of course.

Your savings is fine in a savings account. The place to put the money to get it working for you is real estate. You're on the right track getting your finances in order by building up your savings reserves.

I suggest instead of reading books you start analyzing investment properties for sale in your target markets. It will teach you the numbers. Real estate is not "get rich quick." Look at all the listings in your target market with the goal of finding the best return in the MLS. Have your husband do the same, if you're at all competitive you can have some fun with it.

Just adjust your expectations about what you can possibly do in this space./