Looking to Start My Real Estate Investment Journey

Rental Property Investor · Washington, DC · Member since 2021 · 11 posts · 3 votes

Hello Everyone!

I’m looking to dip my toes into the rental property game. I’m seeking advice on the best way to move forward. I hear a lot of talk about building a good team. Where should I start? I’ll be an OOS investor, so do I begin with an agent in my area of interest? I’m interested in cash flow opposed to appreciation…Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

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Matthew Irish-JonesBusiness Member

Real Estate Agent · Buffalo, NY · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes

@Ronda Reid-Mohammed find a broker or agent that specializes in cash flow properties.

Don’t buy a property based solely on cash flow, location and asset condition are more important than cash flow. If you don’t properly analyze them you will end up in a crappy area, with a crappy asset, and negative cash flow.

Irish Jones Realty4.947 Reviews

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Stephen Brown
Real Estate Broker · Huntsville, AL · Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 872 votes
5y
Hello Ronda! Yes you're on the right path. You need to find a realtor and a market that meet your goals. Since you want cash flow you'll need to find the market that makes sense numbers wise and then you'll have to find an investor friendly agent. I'd recommend looking in the midwest to start your market search for cash flow.
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Abel CurielBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Queens, NY · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
5y
Originally posted by @Ronda Reid-Mohammed:
Hello Everyone!
I’m looking to dip my toes into the rental property game. I’m seeking advice on the best way to move forward. I hear a lot of talk about building a good team. Where should I start? I’ll be an OOS investor, so do I begin with an agent in my area of interest? I’m interested in cash flow opposed to appreciation…Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks

Hello Ronda and welcome to the BP forums!
If you're looking to start OOS, you'd definitely want to connect with a Realtor in your target area(s). They can connect you with lenders, Property managers, title companies, etc. You also want to do some research yourself to find out about local schools, population growth, crime stats, job growth, etc...
If you're open to other strategies aside from OOS, my advice would be to begin local (if possible). You can leverage a low down payment loan to limit your acquisition expenses. You'd also be able to househack which would give you 3 main forms of experience (acquisition, project management and property management) which will be helpful as you scale your portfolio.
Best of luck to you moving forward!
Abel
REbuild Team - eXp Realty5234 Reviews
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Ronda Reid-Mohammed
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Rental Property Investor · Washington, DC · Member since 2021 · 11 posts · 3 votes
5y
@Stephen Brown - Thanks so much for the advice! I’ve been conducting quite a bit of research and the Midwest certainly appears to be favorable for me. I live in the DC area, so being OOS appears to be the better option.
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Ronda Reid-Mohammed
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Rental Property Investor · Washington, DC · Member since 2021 · 11 posts · 3 votes
5y
@Abel Curiel - Thank you! House hacking is not an option for me, but sound advice! Thank you
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Drew SygitBusiness Member
Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 9k+ votes
5y
An agent and a PMC should work together to find you great rental properties.

We don't recommend relying solely on an agent as they're out of the picture after the closing.

No one has more "skin in the game" than a PMC as they have to deal with the property every day until an owner sells or fires them.

Also recommend finding your own Inspector and not one referred by an agent. You want an unbiased Inspector.
[email protected]248-209-6824
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Brandon GoldsmithBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
5y
I would try and learn as much as possible first through books and podcasts. If you are able to find a mentor that would also speed up the process. You could always talk to an agent specialized in working with investors as well.
[email protected]614-963-3340
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Lee RipmaPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Prairie Village, KS · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
5y
@Ronda Reid-Mohammed
1. Look at your current goals and resouces
2. Pick a market that matches those goals and resouces
3. Pick an asset class, if rentals are you doing SFH, 2-4 units, or 5+ units, or something else like MHP. Whatever asset you pick make sure your market has that
4. Contact a local agent who can set you up on an MLS feed. You can also do the first pass for deals on Redfin.
5. Analyze at least a few deals a day, get comfortable looking at deals and knowing what you're looking for
6. Close on the deal, operate it, do it again and again.
This is not exactly what I did to start out of state investing, but in hindsight, this is the only thing I should have been doing. Now this is exactly what I do! Get going on OOS investing!
Podcast Guest on Show #373
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Ronda Reid-Mohammed
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Rental Property Investor · Washington, DC · Member since 2021 · 11 posts · 3 votes
5y
@Drew Sygit
This is great advice! Thank you!
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Ronda Reid-Mohammed
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Rental Property Investor · Washington, DC · Member since 2021 · 11 posts · 3 votes
5y
@Lee Ripma
I love the step-by-step instructions! Thank you!
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Alecia LovelessPro Member
Member since 2019 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
5y
@Ronda Reid-Mohammed If you haven’t already look in the BiggerPockets book store for the book on OOS investing. I can’t remember who wrote it off the top of my head. It’s a useful resource.
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Sean Toomey
Deer Park, NY · Member since 2016 · 115 posts · 85 votes
5y
Hello @Ronda Reid-Mohammed
I would suggest joining your local REIA. When I started out I knew I wanted to invest OOS. I went to a few meetings and saw where some people by me were investing. I got some insight into markets from them and made my decision.
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Matthew Irish-JonesBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Buffalo, NY · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
5y
@Ronda Reid-Mohammed find a broker or agent that specializes in cash flow properties.
Don’t buy a property based solely on cash flow, location and asset condition are more important than cash flow. If you don’t properly analyze them you will end up in a crappy area, with a crappy asset, and negative cash flow.
Irish Jones Realty4.947 Reviews
View Page
2 Reply
David NutakorPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Palmdale, CA · Member since 2016 · 122 posts · 88 votes
5y
@Alecia Loveless, the book you’ve mentioned in your post was written by David Greene who used to be a police officer in Northern California, but he is now a real estate investor.
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Scott WeigelPro Member
GM of Marketplaces and Business Development at BiggerPockets · Denver, CO · Member since 2021 · 8 posts · 3 votes
5y
Hi Ronda - Welcome! We are currently working on building out our marketplace to help investors like you find the first member of the "Core 4" - the Investor-Friendly Real Estate Agent. (You can look for one in our marketplace under the "network" tab.) The tool can be used to find OOS agents. Hope this helps!

[email protected]
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Jeffrey Donis
Investor · Durham, NC · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 691 votes
5y
@Ronda Reid-Mohammed I would start with building a team. Realtor is important, but also a property manager. Who will oversee the property and make sure it is being taken care of? Property management companies are essential to your rental's success.

Hope that helps.
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