Big leap or small? CA is familiar but it would take all my ammo!

[Jc M.]

Hey BP,

First thing: thank you all for the knowledge! Super fun, amazing brian power all in one place. Def glad to be here. I own my home in SF and have a tenant downs. Other than that, I'm trying to get myself ready for my first REI prop. Currently doing many things other newbies are doing here: reading, podcasts, KPIs, networking, etc.

I'm still unsure if I should go near or far. I could probably swing a BRRRR investment within Northern California in places like Sacramento or Fresno up to $75k of MOM, my-own-money,

but that would suck up all of my dedicated RE capital for the next >12 months. My concern is that I'd blow up or breakeven and have no more chips to play. Or, I could go OOS (haven't actually been out of state recently except on short biz trips to Denver). Markets that have me interested price-point and demographic-wise are also unfamiliar to me personally i.e. Boise, Dallas-Fort Worth, Cleveland, Memphis, etc. I'd love to see them firsthand because it would lift some mental blocks but with two kids under three plus shelter-in-place, I'm not able to do so any time soon.

Do I start small but unfamiliar, learn from it and reserve capital for next deals? Or, do I take the plunge in CA and go all in?