Advice for a newbie in an expensive city

[Mary Seo]

Hi everyone, I'm relatively new to the BiggerPockets Forums (although I've been listening to the podcasts for over year now). I'm a software engineer located in Los Angeles and my goal is to start investing in (ideally) multi-family homes and if not, then single-family homes through house-hacking and possibly flipping (although i know flipping may not be the best idea during a recession). I don't have a ton of savings at the moment and I'd like to know if anyone has advice on how to get started in such an expensive city. The reason I'd like to stay in LA is to qualify for an FHA loan/live in the unit while renting out.

[Kyle Spearin]

@Mary Seo--welcome to the community! Even within expensive cities (I'm from Boston and live in Denver), you can find good deals. LA has areas that are on the up and coming that might give you opportunities to invest in an area that will have good appreciation as it gentrifies. I'm not familiar with specifics there, but if you look for trends, you will be able to see. You can contact local agents and investors for more insight in that respect.

In terms of not having a lot of savings, I highly recommend reading The Richest Man in Babylon and Set for Life. These lay out good strategies depending on your circumstances, but essentially they will tell you to save money first, then invest once you have enough capital built up to deal with the inevitable problems that occur in a house.

Good luck!