Newbie in need of some direction!

[David A.]

Hey, everyone! So I've been perusing through BP for a week or so now, and have spent SO many hours each day reading through the forums, blogs, articles, ebooks, listening to podcasts... the amount of knowledge on this site is incredible, so I figured it might be time to say a little hello (Hi!) and reach out for some advice!

I am 24 and currently in West Africa in the Peace Corps, and am trying to figure out what to do with myself once I get back stateside. I'm a born-and-bred Nutmegger (Connecticut), and spent my college years in NYC. I'm from northwestern CT originally, and probably envision myself settling down in CT either in the Hartford area (W. Hartford, Avon, Canton, Bloomfield, etc.) or by the shore in the New Haven area.

Once I do get back to the states, I think I'll probably get a full-time meh-paying job in the nonprofit sector, perhaps working with an NGO or a community-based organization, and eventually get back to school for my Master's in international development, but I really have been looking for some sort of investment opportunity that I can get behind to complement (justify, really) a mediocre salary for a career path that will put me in the sort of jobs that will make me happy with life (but still leave me with bills). I also am disgusted with the ~$50,000 I spent on rent money that I'll never see again after living in Manhattan for so long. The first article I came across (which led me to BP) was Brandon's 7 Years to 7 Figure Wealth, which fascinated me. I know it's just a rough guideline, but it inspired me to look down that path.

Mostly, I've been researching (/am interested in) 3 and 4plexes in CT cities... in particular, Waterbury. I've also been peeking into New Haven, Bristol, Torrington; I'm not really interested in going into Bridgeport or Hartford at this point, or really anything on the eastern half of the state). Waterbury seems to have a decent number of somewhat distressed 3-4plexes selling for under 20k, which would require maybe 20-30k worth of rehab and redecoration to get in rental shape (certainly not to get them beautiful). Alternatively, there are more 3-4plexes for around 80k that are structurally fine, but could use 5-10k in TLC to make them more sellable, so maybe a total buy-in of 90k. Rents in the area are about 600-650 for a 2br, 700-800 for a 3br (or with Section 8 tenants, I think the maximum for a 3br would be high 900s). A lot of the houses selling for under 30K were bought maybe 10 years ago for over 150k+, similar for the higher end ones under 100k (an 80k 4plex I like sold for 290 in 2006, e.g.). A lot of these are foreclosures if vacant, and the ones occupied seem to be investors just trying to sell cheap. 

These houses are mostly in... well, not great areas. I've been reading a lot about what qualifies a C or D property or a war-zone. The properties are definitely built in the early 1900s for the most part, functioning but not beautiful, and definitely not on affluent streets. Still, there's not really gang activity, shoot outs, or significant theft or vandalism very prevalent in these neighborhoods. I would want to self-manage the properties, and would adhere to the rule of thumb of not buying a place that I wouldn't want to go to at night to collect rent, but these are definitely locations I would never live in myself. Is there anyone who would strongly advise for or against this? It seems somewhat better for cash flow, but resale seems to be a struggle... not that I want to hold them for 20 years, but following Brandon's model, it seems like by year 3-5 or so, I would want to sell off the properties (and to be honest, most of them I could pay off the mortgages with the cashflow after 5 years anyways). 

I am drawn to these sorts of low-cost buildings and neighborhoods because I just don't have a ton of capitol or resources to get running - also, I have a lot of student debt (not quite 6 figures, but I'm pushing it). I'll have about 7K in my savings account when I do get back to the states (after buying a car), and will probably get started right away at a job to try to start saving a bit, but I definitely would not have the money to put a 20% DP on a nice 100-200K 4plex plus repair costs. I would go down the FHA route and just live in a unit, except I do not really get salary in the PC, and I know you have to have 2 years at the same job with equal or raised pay to qualify for FHA. That's why it seems most economical to get a loan on a 20K building that I can easily put the 20% down on, and find money for repairs or go apartment-by-apartment and renting out the UTD ones whilst saving up and repairing the rest. Should I just give up on this and save up for a few years until I can amass 20k or so? Am I just looking at a terrible market? Long-term, I would love to amass 3-4plexes and commercial apartment buildings in the New Haven area and market them specifically to students (Yale/SCSU), but I don't think that's something I'm ready to tackle without more experience (and capitol).

Anyways, if you got through all this - thanks for listening to me blab on! I guess I don't have any specific questions, just needed somewhere to type out my thoughts and see if anything jumps out at anyone. :)