Newbie Investor Looking For First Investment!

[David Sung]

Hey Guys,

Just joined the forum after watching Brandon's video on YouTube about how to get started in real estate investing. I'm super excited to be here!

My background: After seeing how hard my parents worked their whole life to provide for me and my sisters, I knew I wanted to be financially prepared for the future. So basically I busted my *** off and got into investing into stocks initially with a portion of my monthly income when I was 18 (throwing a couple hundred bucks a month into index funds), and I was fortunate enough to have a decent paying job when I got out of university (when I started investing more heavily). I have about $50,000 saved up for a down payment with great credit. (Go Bears!)  

Recently I've been trying to look for more sources of income, since a huge chunk of my paycheck is going to Uncle Sam, and I know that real estate has one of the biggest potentials to make that happen for me. 

My Question: I'm looking to buy my first property in Torrance, CA. The place is listed for around $450k for a 2 BD/ 1 BATH Townhome. I was just wondering if this would be a good purchase for my first Townhome. Since I'm currently living for free with my sister in Koreatown, I feel that I can turn this into a monthly cash flow for me by renting it out to a nice family. The place was very well-kept by a previous owner, but everyone's telling me Torrance, CA is a terrible area and that the housing market is supposed to crash soon. Are my friends just all cynical zombies or should I be wary? 

Sincerely,

Newbie Real Estate Investor

[Ruth Bayang]

hi David and welcome to BP.
Good for you for having saved $50k! I won't put my two cents in on Torrance CA because I'm not familiar with that area. As for everyone who tells you it's crap... who are they? Family and friends who know nothing about RE? As for a crash, who knows? Nobody has a crystal ball. But there is a cycle in the housing market and there are ups and downs. Over time (decades), real estate always goes up.

You come across as very smart and you are smart to ask questions here. I will defer to those familiar with Calif. answer your other questions in more detail.