Bay Area out of state investors?

Question

Hey all, I'm looking to chat with other investors in the Bay area who invest out of state. Would love to trade stories and talk about what's working and where you're investing.Best,Daniel

Ryan Lam · Answer

One big lesson I learned: If you can, network with people who have successfully done it out of state. That helped ease a lot of the fear of operating in different parts of the country. If someone you trust has done well with a certain local team, and you add your own research/due diligence, chances are you’re headed in the right direction. Sounds simple enough but in practice it helped way more than I could have imagined.

Ryan Lam · Answer

@Daniel PiersonCurrently Central FL (Ocala) and IN. At first, the thought of buying sight unseen terrified me. Working on another deal at the moment, really trying to get this portfolio built up. I was fortunate on the first one since a friend of mine, who has been investing much longer, was in FL checking out properties so they were able to help me get some eyes on the place. Now that I’m getting more comfortable with the teams of property managers, real estate agents, and lenders, I’m hoping it will be a process of rinse and repeat. Sounds boring, but sometimes boring works! I talk to so many new investors, or potential investors, and one mistake I see people in high priced areas like the Bay Area make is thinking the rest of the country should be operating the same way the Bay Area is. They end up searching, waiting, for unicorn opportunities and either don’t take action or take way too much risk than they’re comfortable with.

Matt K. · Answer

I went to KC, got annoyed I couldn't find people I liked working with so made the connections myself haha. Was a huge pain but paid off now, lot of sharks that see $$ when someone from CA.Happy to share my experience and answer any qu questions.

Daniel Pierson · Answer

appreciate it @Drew C Grossman. Good reminder to find others that can complement your existing skills.

Drew C Grossman · Answer

Hi @Daniel Pierson - I live and mostly operate/ invest in the Florida markets for a number of reasons….the most simple answer is I know these markets best. My investment focus is in Ocala /Central Florida and have built a bunch of single family, self storage and currently working on small multi family developments, duplex(s) ect..Although I’ve never been to California, some of my main partners both on the capital and sales side are from the Bay Area. and I have learned so much from working with them and seeing first hand how they have progressed with out of state investing. I’m on the flip side of the conversation because I am the boots on the ground guy for my team where I formulates a strategy and plan, put deals and together with everything in place, and then execute on that plan along with putting together the process and management in place that the property requires. There’s always an element of local knowledge and presence needed ….and though automation certainly helps, you can never remove the physical aspect completely from PM. I think the success of the out of state venture is highly dependent on your partnership and trust with your “boots on the ground” individual. Once you find the market that attracts you the most, you will have a few options to invest in that market…the first easiest way to find a professional crowd funded opportunity that will likely require you to be an an accredited investor but will allow you to get exposure with smaller risk however smaller returns. This investment is still contingent on you finding a good operator with a strong track record. Even at the professional level there are a lot of phonies out there and you need to find a syndicator/operator you can confidently stand behind. The next option would be to find your “boots on the ground” someone in the market you want to invest. They need to be highly specialized in a certain strategy, sub market or niche and then see what value each of you can bring to each other and search for a partnership that way. In my case, I had deals, experience and a significant BUT finite amount of capital however some individual have the opposite problems and are looking for strong deals. Best of luck in your search, and I hope this helps!

Daniel Pierson · Answer

@Ryan Lam agreed, setting up the initial infrastructure is the hardest but once you have that boring is good! Will send you a PM.

Daniel Pierson · Answer

thanks @Aj Parikh

Daniel Pierson · Answer

@Matt K. I love it. you put in the work and that separated you from 99% of people.Will send you a PM.

Aj Parikh · Answer

Hi Daniel, I am not from the Bay area but I am an out of state investor from Northern Virginia and I have spoken to multiple investors from Bay area or all over USA to help them get started in out of state investing. Feel free to reach out and book a call and we can discuss further.

Daniel Pierson · Answer

Thanks @Amby Bhagtani! any OOS markets you're focused on?