Good places for a California investor to buy multi-family and apartment complexes

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Hi Everyone,

I would like to get the expert advice/opinions of other BP members on a dilemma that I am faced with. My husband and myself are investors from San Jose, CA and we have only bought SFRs so far. We have bought in AZ, NV and TN and have had no issues since we have good property managers. We now want to invest in 4 plex or apartment complexes and have no idea which markets are good in terms of cap rate and also ease of management. Since we cannot buy local (cap rate in CA is pretty low), we are exploring different markets. 

Thanks,

Carolyn

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Carolyn,

Congratulations!!! You got in at a good time. You are one smart cookie for buying properties in A neighborhoods. They are much easier to sell when you're ready to liquidate. 

Looking only at CoCR can be deceiving in my opinion. For an apples to apples comparison, you have to look at the IRR. When something is selling for cheap, there's normally a reason behind it. Why do you think people are willing to pay $1MM+ for a shack in Cupertino while they're literally giving these house away in other states?

I believe everything in life has a price. Rich people are well connected with our political system, and they tend to vote with their checkbook.  Properties in a supply constrained markets, like ours, have a high probability of appreciating in the short, intermediate and long terms. 

We human tend to take for the path of least resistance. Unfortunately, the path of least resistance tends to lead us to the path that we try to avoid. I spent a lot of time to learn and understand our housing market. I'm extremely happy to say that all of my properties are right here in San Jose. You can say that I do what others don't. :>)

If you truly want to learn and rub elbow with other seasoned investors, there's a meet-up in San Francisco Fi Di tomorrow afternoon. @J. Martin?