Southern California negative cash flow

[Shiyuan Zhang]

Hi everyone,

I am new to real estate investing, but I am very excited to invest in my first property. I have saved enough down payment and am ready to go, just trying to find the right deal. The problem is that in Southern California, I have very little luck finding properties that bring a good positive cash flow, not to mention the market is super competitive. I am looking at Santa Clarita, Riverside, Long Beach, and other greater LA cities that are more affordable (~$400k). 

My question is that since the property appreciates so much in SoCal, if I hold it for 2-3 years, I can probably get a pretty good profit, but again, it's risky without knowing for sure how the housing market and economy going to be in 2-3 years. Does it make sense to just break even, or maybe even a little bit of negative cash flow? 

Wondering what is everyone's experience in SoCal, I am trying to avoid investing OOS since this will be my first deal, also I have a full-time job that keeps me busy and I intend to work for at least a few more years, so just want to make my first investment as straightforward as possible. 

Thanks in advance!!