Invest Now or Wait For Potential Crash

[Kelsey Mortimore]

Hi!

I’m new to the investing world. I want to buy a multifamily and house hack it. Would it be wise to invest now, while my market (Providence, RI) is super hot or wait for a potential crash? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[Anthony Thompson]

@Kelsey Mortimore I’m doing a mixture of both, trying to keep some cash in reserve but also staying active and still doing some deals here and there to keep some money at work and especially keep a pulse on what’s happening in the market.

For your first investment though, I believe the best time to start is “now”, at any point in the market cycle, simply because you have to live somewhere and there is a lot of virtue in just getting started and getting over the “first deal” hump, overcoming “analysis paralysis” etc.

I’d recommend taking some time to “digest” your first deal though and acclimate to all the joys and responsibilities of house ownership, before rushing on to the next one. I’d say that at any point in the market cycle but with a little more emphasis now as we may see the market change while you’re settling in on your first purchase.

“Waiting for a potential crash” is more of an intermediate/advanced strategy and... to be honest even most of the “experts” get it wrong as far as timing. (Being human, I’m just as likely to be wrong on predictions and timing as most other people of course.)

So I think you should definitely just focus on what’s best for your own situation and “get a piece on the board” with a house hack if the numbers are acceptable to you, and then reevaluate where the market is, and you are, after that.