No Cash Flow Properties in my Market (CA - OC/LA)

[Brandon S.]

Hi all,

I just met with my RE agent and surprise, surprise, based on the pre-approval that I got from our broker, I could not find any properties that I could positive cash flow with unless I put more than 20% down in "decent" neighborhoods.

For you SoCal investors out there, where alternatives are you looking at? Of course, being optimistic, I would love to just bank on the idea of appreciation but I'm a bit conservative and that just seems like a foolish gamble.

tl;dr - No cash flow properties unless I put a lot down. What other markets/investment vehicles to look at?

[Alex Craig]

@Alison Michel Jay is right. Like any business, there are good and bad ones. Bad TK can be costly and unfortunately I have seen some really bad ones.

@Brandon S Turnkey is an option. Find a market you like and interview several Turnkey companies. There are good ones out there; you just need to find them and like them as they will be in business with you for a very long time, especially since you are looking at conventional financing. You can do a lot of due diligence on the house such as flying out there for you to get your own gut feeling, property inspections, termite inspections, CMA's and appraisals. There are several markets to invest where cash flow works; it does not always have to be a major metro area. I have properties in Memphis and Little Rock---both have treated me well. My piece of advice, pick the market, then within the market, pick your area, then pick your house. The house is the least most important part of the equation. The house can be fixed and you have control over that. The area and market you have no control over.

Good Luck!!!!