First Time Investor in CA

[Cynthia Alexandra Sanchez]

Hi All,

I wanted to reach out to this amazing community for guidance on my first property.

What is stopping me from getting started and finding my first property is my indecisiveness in the strategy I want to utilize.

I live in CA and believe that I am going to have to invest out of state because I currently do not have the capital to invest in my own backyard.

In your opinion:

What would be a better strategy for my first deal?

Should I utilize an FHA loan and purchase a multi-family home to rent out the other units or should I try and purchase an out of state home?

Also, if anyone has any suggestions on some side hustles one can do while working full time to raise capital that would be great too.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Reed Meyer]

I think your best option is an FHA loan house hack in LA. It may be tough to find a property that works within the cities FHA loan limits but if you can this is how you will be able to get the most out of your money on the first deal. In order to house hack in LA you will most likely need to invest just outside of good areas. So areas that haven't grown yet so prices are still reasonable and you can put 3.5% down but they are in the path of progress.

As for a side a hustle, I am in the same boat. I have a W-2 job like you but wanted to expedite my capital raising so that I could buy more, sooner. In order to raise money quicker I got my broker's license. It is a great part time side hustle where you get out of it as much as you put into it. And there are great synergies to my investment goals as well. I get a great sense of a lot of different areas in my market and get a chance to view/underwrite a lot more deals. Also a great opportunity to expand your network.