In State or Out of State Investing to Start

[Jazmine Kravitz]

My husband and I currently reside in California have been actively analyzing the Indiana market to purchase our first investment property/ property in general.

I wanted more options on the decisions below before we attempt to make our first purchase.

1. Purchase a value add - owner occupied condo in Cali and rent out after a year. (A condo is all we can afford at the moment) and then invest out of state after.

2. Purchase a few investment properties out of state first then purchase a home to house hack after in Cali possibly 1.5-2 years from now.

I guess my question boils down to: do you think it’s possible for a first time investor to have success out of state or should I focus on something local first? I feel overly confident and am aware of the risks but would love options from other investors. Thanks!!

[Adrien C.]

i owned several rentals while i rented myself. Fellow local inventors would tease me about it. But for me, i wanted a specific features in a personal house which we couldn't find so we ended up building. Owning your own house doesn't move you up the ladder to start buying rentals. One of my larger rental owners that we manage for rents in Chicago. Renting gives you flexibility to do what you want. Plus in your market with higher price points, your down payment on a personal house might be 2-3 down payments on rentals. If you have a family with kids and want to settle for school and such, then buying might make more sense.