Anyone started REI investing with condo or apartment unit?

[Timofei Kadkin]

Hello BP nation. Good time of the day to everyone. Browsing ideas how to get in to the REI investing. A little about us: we are family of 3 plus crazy bulldog. My wife and I both work in medical field and both have big DREAM becoming financially independent.

Anyway, I recently posted question on how to start investing with 10k and received a lot of great advices and opinions. The only one way no one mentioned to start with condo or apartment. Is there anyone who did so? I understand that one unit will not bring me much, but I feel the urge to start somewhere and this would be way cheaper than start with a house. Currently located in NorCal and prices are high. Please share your experiences and thank you 🙏

[Joseph Cacciapaglia]

I've helped a number of investors with condo purchases for buy and hold investments. It's often more difficult to make the numbers work, because of the condo owners association fee. There are also some additional challenges with financing, if there are too many investor owned units in the building. However, having a third party take care of the roof, structure, grounds, amenities, etc. is a huge benefit. 

If you can find one where your numbers work well, they can be somewhat more predictable, because you don't have those large capex items. It's important to check into the finances of the condo owners association to be sure you're not at risk of special assessments. Condos can be great for flips as well, because there are far fewer major items that could need repairs.