Real Estate Investing in the Bay Area

[Account Closed]

I have so many questions, I don’t know where to start.

-what’s best location that’s affordable for a first investment property? (I’m from/located in the East Bay)

-Financing and downpayment! Do I have to put down 20%? Is $50-75k a decent amount to put down on a house these days?

-how do you finance renovations for a fixer upper? If I use most of my money on downpayment where does the rest of the money come from? Additional loans?

[Amit M.]

@Account Closed what I suggest is that you *do not* plan to buy anything right now. With the SHTF we are in for a wild ride of unpredictability, which even seasoned and well capitalized local investors will be challenged with. Plus, having only $50-75k to work with is very low for the Bay Area, especially if you’re looking at a value add property. Given that, A newbie Investor could easily = sheep to slaughterhouse...and you don’t want to be that!

Now for the good news :) This is the perfect time for you to learn as much as you can. Read BP, but try to focus on Bay Area investing, as there is a lot of time wasting junk on the forums too. There are also numerous local meetups which you can tap into. Do all that for months, plus follow the market locally. I expect some interesting and possibly good deals to percolate later in the year, as certain sellers will be forced to liquidate. Lastly, you should target specific cities and preferably neighborhoods. So get to know them. My gut tells me that certain Oakland neighborhoods got over hyped in the last few years, and may fall harder than more established prime areas. Study those. Look at listings. Follow price trajectories. 

Personally I don’t recommend investing out of state/turd key (sic). You’re lucky to live here, and you can do very well locally, especially if you position yourself to buy as the local market corrects in the next year+. Good luck!