Please Help: Want to purchase a duplex or triplex...but where? Oregon, Washington??

[Mimi Essie]

Hello Everyone, 

This is my first post and I could really use some advice.  I want to purchase a duplex or triplex but keep running into issues when I try to identify WHERE I might want to make the purchase.  I would GREATLY appreciate your advice/recommendations.  

Here are some details/background information:

1) I have never owned a home. I have always rented in very beautiful, expensive areas that I loved living in but financially were out of my reach to purchase a home.  I currently live in Laguna Beach,CA but previously lived in Boston, Cambridge, London and Paris.  I cannot afford a home in Laguna Beach (teardowns are over $1 million here) so I am looking to invest elsewhere and most likely out of state.  While I want to purchase real estate as an investment I am finding it hard to figure out WHERE I could afford that I would also want to live someday.  I know the ideal is to purchase near where you live but the places near me that I could afford are not areas I would want to live in.

2) I would like to purchase a duplex or triplex so that when I "retire" in 10 years or so I could live in one unit and have income from the others.  I have enough money for a downpayment (and I have excellent FICO scores) but when I think about WHERE to buy I keep being drawn to areas that already are, or are becoming, very expensive.  For example, I am from the East Coast originally but have decided I want to purchase on the West Coast so have been looking at Oregon for a variety of reasons.  (I will most likely remain in California for my work and move to the area where I purchased real estate when I retire.)  I like Portland but knew it was increasingly expensive so I started to research other areas in Oregon.  I found a nice place in Lake Oswego and Manzanita (places I had never heard of) but when I researched those towns it turns out they are expensive too.

3)  Some things that are important to me:  Turn-key because I don't have the ability to be in Oregon overseeing a renovation.  No ugly looking houses.  I typically like renovated Victorians, Craftsman or quality-built modern, "green" homes.  Good schools (I don't have children in school but I want the people I rent to to have access to good schools for their children).  Low Crime. Low Vacancy rate.  Nice, walkable neighborhood with interesting shops. Oh, yeah, and a GAS stove.  What is it with all the electric stoves in Oregon???

4) What should I do?  I have been reading all I can on this wonderful site and I have been listening to the podcasts, too, which are great.  I think I am scared because this investment is something I need to help me have an easier retirement scenario so I need to be very smart about what I do.  Can you advise me on where might be good areas for me to look?  I haven't had time to research Washington yet but the same things that are important to me in Oregon would be important to me in Washington.  I will probably qualify for a mortgage of $500k but it makes me nervous to have so much debt so I would want to make sure the investment is truly a good one that covers the mortgage, expenses and cash flows.  I will be going to Oregon at the end of May to look around in different areas that might be good for investment and also attractive enough environments that I would want to live there.

I apologize in advance if I am sounding too unrealistic.  I appreciate any and all advice or recommendations. 

Thanks, for your time and consideration.

Michele