Need advice on my first purchase in Ventura California

[Gaurav S.]

I am a newbie and hence will try to give as much info as I can. I have been living in santa barbara for 6 years now and have a stable job. I always thought that buying a rental duplex/triplex type of property and living in one of the units myself would be a good idea.

Currently I am paying $1500/month for 1 bedroom in Santa Barbara. The duplex 2bd/1ba complex`s that I have seen here are around 600k+ and in very poor school district. It doesn't make financial sense unless I use a 3%+ annual appreciation.

Looking at some of the available listings in Ventura county the prices are more reasonable, units are more updated and they are in good school districts.Ofcourse I will have to commute to work (40 minute drive).

Here are my questions
1) Do you think its a good idea to buy in Ventura or should I just keep renting in santa barbara ?

2) Based on an advice here I found a REO broker in ventura through reobroker.com. What is the difference between brooker and agent ? Does he get commissions the same way as agent does ?

3) If you are familiar with the ventura area please advice which neighborhoods to stay away from and what to look out for.

4) Since its hard to cash flow properties in coastal neighborhoods in California, what type of Rent revenue multiple(or some other metric) would you use to value the property.

5)If you have some recommendation for how I should approach this purchase please guide me.

Thanks,
Gaurav