Trying to get into Real estate investing.....again

[Tim G.]

About a year ago I decided I wanted to get into real estate investing and researched the topic (with great help from this site) for months. Me and my wife were about to have a child and were going to purchase a multi-family property to occupy/rent for a positive cash flow (hopefully). We ended up coming to the conclusion that with what was going on in our life, we should look for a well priced starter home first. We found a great and affordable 3 bedroom home with tons of potential (unfinished 3rd floor, partly finished walkout basement) and could not be happier (especially at the killer price we get it for after some hard negotiating). Now that our daughter is 5 months old and things are going well, I wanted to explore investing again. Of course, I gained a vast amount of knowledge before from this site and other resources but sometimes the hardest part is getting started. As before, I am looking into getting a multi family property with at least 3 units that can generate a decent positive cash flow monthly. We are in a good position financially since we ended up getting a house for half of what we were approved for so the expenses of our current home have been small. Am I thinking too small in a 3 family or should I be exploring larger options for a positive cashflow in my situation? Am I headed in the right direction? Thankfully, we have a home already so location can really be anywhere within a good drive so I am able to keep a close eye on things. Any recommendations to particular parts of RI/MA/CT would be appreciated as well. 

Thank You

Tim

[Neil Aggarwal]

I have always felt that you need at least 10 streams of rental income before you can handle the ups and downs of vacancy and maintenance.  You do not need to have it all at once, and 3 units is a good start.  If it is a good deal, buy it and keep looking for opportunities to get to 10 units.