Advice about best cashflow market for my situation

[Tony Xu]

Hey everyone!

So I am still fairly new to REI but have been doing a lot of research on the blog and forums. I am mostly interested in maximizing cash flow, even though some appreciation would be nice as well. I am mostly focused on small single family homes, and maybe small multi units. My ideal investment for each property would be in the ~20-25k range, so putting it around ~100k a property. I would ideally be looking for A, maybe B grade properties if A grade is not possible.

I started narrowing my research with https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2016-inve... and started with the top 10 markets for cash flow. Then I did further research, especially focusing on growth in the tech sector, since I work in that sector and do believe that it is the future, and will provide stability in the region. 

With that, I narrowed my focus to 4 cities, Kansas City, Jacksonville, Tampa, and Detroit. 

I am just wondering if there are people that are in those markets now, and have any advice about which one might be best for my situation. I think initially I would probably start using a more turn key service, but then move in to having my own team as I get more experience. I will be remote since I live in California.

Thank you for reading and your advice!

[Eric Delcol]

Hey @Tony Xu

"I am mostly interested in maximizing cash flow...putting it around ~100k a property. I would ideally be looking for A, maybe B grade properties if A grade is not possible."

To have all of those things is not impossible, but would be very difficult to find. I would suggest picking two of those three points.

To give you some perspective - your statement above is a bit like saying

"I'd like to buy a new car, one that has the best gas mileage. I'd also like a luxury brand, like BMW or Mercedes, and my budget is $9,000."

Here's a broad overview of what you can buy with $100K in the cities you listed:

Kansas City - B neighborhood

Jacksonville - C neighborhood

Tampa - D neighborhood

Detroit - A/B neighborhood

“I think initially I would probably start using a more turn key service, but then move in to having my own team as I get more experience. I will be remote since I live in California.”

If you want to be passive in your investments turn key can be great. But if you can dedicate the time to your real estate endeavors doing things in house will be much more beneficial (and less expensive).

I know all four of these cities well.Feel free to send me a PM if you have any questions or feel free to just reach out and share what you decide!  Good luck!