Looking to Start My Real Estate Investment Journey

[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

[Stephen Brown]

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.

[Abel Curiel]

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

[Ronda Reid-Mohammed]

@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.

[Ronda Reid-Mohammed]

@Abel Curiel - Thank you! House hacking is not an option for me, but sound advice! Thank you

[Drew Sygit]

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.

[Brandon Goldsmith]

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.

[Lee Ripma]

@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! 

[Ronda Reid-Mohammed]

@Drew Sygit

This is great advice! Thank you!

[Ronda Reid-Mohammed]

@Lee Ripma

I love the step-by-step instructions! Thank you!

[Alecia Loveless]

@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.

[Sean Toomey]

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.

[Matthew Irish-Jones]

@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.

[David Nutakor]

@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.

[Scott Weigel]

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! 

[Jeffrey Donis]

@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.