Aspiring investors with 200k+ income looking for guidance

[Savannah Walbert]

Hello! My fiancée and I will be beginning our real estate investment journey in 2024 and are looking for any suggestions or pointers as we make some of our initial decisions.

We live in Los Angeles, so it’s probably not surprising that we are leaning toward out-of-state investing. Combined we are making about 250-300k annually pre-tax. However, we aren’t W2 employees, all that income is from 1099 independent contractor work, which of course will limit what financing we can qualify for.

We have 100k+ saved in the bank, but don’t want to plow all of it into our first deal. Ideally we will find a (relatively) low priced market to be able to get into without putting up huge amounts of capital.

If it were possible to invest within driving distance we would love that, since we are a little nervous about dealing with any renovations or even just unexpected maintenance from out-of-state. However, I think the prices in California will cause us to invest out of state and we will just have to learn how to set up the right systems and processes to deal with issues as they come up.

Any pointers on decently priced markets that we could get into in 2024 for a solid first investment property would be much appreciated. We are open to single and multi family, although we’d prefer multi of course. We also aren’t set on doing long, medium, or short term, and would be open to advice about which way will probably be best for our given situation.

Thank you and look forward to starting our investment career!

[Christopher M Conner]

Quote from @Sam McCormack:

Quote from @Savannah Walbert:

Hello! My fiancée and I will be beginning our real estate investment journey in 2024 and are looking for any suggestions or pointers as we make some of our initial decisions.

We live in Los Angeles, so it’s probably not surprising that we are leaning toward out-of-state investing. Combined we are making about 250-300k annually pre-tax. However, we aren’t W2 employees, all that income is from 1099 independent contractor work, which of course will limit what financing we can qualify for.

We have 100k+ saved in the bank, but don’t want to plow all of it into our first deal. Ideally we will find a (relatively) low priced market to be able to get into without putting up huge amounts of capital.

If it were possible to invest within driving distance we would love that, since we are a little nervous about dealing with any renovations or even just unexpected maintenance from out-of-state. However, I think the prices in California will cause us to invest out of state and we will just have to learn how to set up the right systems and processes to deal with issues as they come up.

Any pointers on decently priced markets that we could get into in 2024 for a solid first investment property would be much appreciated. We are open to single and multi family, although we’d prefer multi of course. We also aren’t set on doing long, medium, or short term, and would be open to advice about which way will probably be best for our given situation.

Thank you and look forward to starting our investment career!

In Cincinnati, 60k will be more than enough to for a down payment and closing costs, and have funds for any "surprise repairs" that will inevitably come. Getting a small multifamily under 250k is more than possible (with cash flow). let me know if you have any questions!

Mind if I ask where I could look in Cincinnati?  I’m in central Ky and the numbers so far always have me running at a loss unless interest rates go down.  So I’m thinking about Northern LY, Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus as possible options.

[Jimmy Lieu]

Quote from @Savannah Walbert:

Hello! My fiancée and I will be beginning our real estate investment journey in 2024 and are looking for any suggestions or pointers as we make some of our initial decisions.

We live in Los Angeles, so it’s probably not surprising that we are leaning toward out-of-state investing. Combined we are making about 250-300k annually pre-tax. However, we aren’t W2 employees, all that income is from 1099 independent contractor work, which of course will limit what financing we can qualify for.

We have 100k+ saved in the bank, but don’t want to plow all of it into our first deal. Ideally we will find a (relatively) low priced market to be able to get into without putting up huge amounts of capital.

If it were possible to invest within driving distance we would love that, since we are a little nervous about dealing with any renovations or even just unexpected maintenance from out-of-state. However, I think the prices in California will cause us to invest out of state and we will just have to learn how to set up the right systems and processes to deal with issues as they come up.

Any pointers on decently priced markets that we could get into in 2024 for a solid first investment property would be much appreciated. We are open to single and multi family, although we’d prefer multi of course. We also aren’t set on doing long, medium, or short term, and would be open to advice about which way will probably be best for our given situation.

Thank you and look forward to starting our investment career!

Hey Savannah, totally can relate with you being from an expensive real estate market - I moved to Columbus a few years ago (from Portland, Oregon which was super expensive) to become a full time real estate investor, and ever since, I've completed quite a lot of BRRRRs, flips, and own a successful rental portfolio here in Columbus Ohio. There's so many catalysts for population and job growth (Intel, Honda, Amazon, Nationwide Hospital, etc). I can definitely tell you there's still a lot of positive cash flowing and 1% rule deals and you get amazing appreciation. As an investor and agent here in Columbus Ohio, if you have any questions or want to connect, definitely reach out!

[Sam McCormack]

Quote from @Christopher M Conner:

Quote from @Sam McCormack:

Quote from @Savannah Walbert:

Hello! My fiancée and I will be beginning our real estate investment journey in 2024 and are looking for any suggestions or pointers as we make some of our initial decisions.

We live in Los Angeles, so it’s probably not surprising that we are leaning toward out-of-state investing. Combined we are making about 250-300k annually pre-tax. However, we aren’t W2 employees, all that income is from 1099 independent contractor work, which of course will limit what financing we can qualify for.

We have 100k+ saved in the bank, but don’t want to plow all of it into our first deal. Ideally we will find a (relatively) low priced market to be able to get into without putting up huge amounts of capital.

If it were possible to invest within driving distance we would love that, since we are a little nervous about dealing with any renovations or even just unexpected maintenance from out-of-state. However, I think the prices in California will cause us to invest out of state and we will just have to learn how to set up the right systems and processes to deal with issues as they come up.

Any pointers on decently priced markets that we could get into in 2024 for a solid first investment property would be much appreciated. We are open to single and multi family, although we’d prefer multi of course. We also aren’t set on doing long, medium, or short term, and would be open to advice about which way will probably be best for our given situation.

Thank you and look forward to starting our investment career!

In Cincinnati, 60k will be more than enough to for a down payment and closing costs, and have funds for any "surprise repairs" that will inevitably come. Getting a small multifamily under 250k is more than possible (with cash flow). let me know if you have any questions!

Mind if I ask where I could look in Cincinnati?  I’m in central Ky and the numbers so far always have me running at a loss unless interest rates go down.  So I’m thinking about Northern LY, Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus as possible options.

 Shot you a message

[Alfath Ahmed]

Quote from @Savannah Walbert:

Hello! My fiancée and I will be beginning our real estate investment journey in 2024 and are looking for any suggestions or pointers as we make some of our initial decisions.

We live in Los Angeles, so it’s probably not surprising that we are leaning toward out-of-state investing. Combined we are making about 250-300k annually pre-tax. However, we aren’t W2 employees, all that income is from 1099 independent contractor work, which of course will limit what financing we can qualify for.

We have 100k+ saved in the bank, but don’t want to plow all of it into our first deal. Ideally we will find a (relatively) low priced market to be able to get into without putting up huge amounts of capital.

If it were possible to invest within driving distance we would love that, since we are a little nervous about dealing with any renovations or even just unexpected maintenance from out-of-state. However, I think the prices in California will cause us to invest out of state and we will just have to learn how to set up the right systems and processes to deal with issues as they come up.

Any pointers on decently priced markets that we could get into in 2024 for a solid first investment property would be much appreciated. We are open to single and multi family, although we’d prefer multi of course. We also aren’t set on doing long, medium, or short term, and would be open to advice about which way will probably be best for our given situation.

Thank you and look forward to starting our investment career!

Savannah, I would look in to the Columbus market. I work with a ton of out-of-state investors from California and Seattle who buy both turnkey and BRRRR assets over here. Columbus has been growing super-fast over the last 3-5 years and there is not stopping. Large companies like Google, Intel, Amazon, etc. are all investing over here! Most of my clients look into areas like Old North, Old Town East/King Lincoln-BronzeVille, Merion Village, Driving Park, North Linden, Hungarian Village, Bexley, and North Hilltop.

I created a neighborhood grade map that I can share with you. 

[Andrew Syrios]

I would think there are some decently priced markets in eastern California, western Arizona or southern Nevada that would be in driving distance from you. I wouldn't recommend buying in a really small town just because it's in driving distance. 

It would also be worth picking up David Greene's book Long Distance Real Estate Investing: https://store.biggerpockets.com/products/long-distance-real-... That's a good guide for buying out of state. 

[Todd Dexheimer]

It sounds like you're doing well in your business. Why do you want to take time away from growing that further to buy real estate? I would think back to what the last 6 months of your life have been like and what the next 6 months+ will look like. Think about how much free time you have and whether or not you want to use that free time to grow a real estate business. Is your time better served growing your current income? If you answer that you'd like to be a full-time real estate operator, then by all means, get into and buy your own deals. If you're doing it for passive income, because you know that real estate is a great investment, then look into passive ways to invest. Some good passive ways are investing in a syndication or fund, buying notes (semi-passive), buying NNN lease (semi-passive).