First Time Investor - Advice Please!

[Kaii Blanton]

Hello BiggerPockets Family!

I’m super new to the real estate world! I’ve begun to read real estate investing books and listen to real estate podcasts. I currently live in Los Angeles and would love to invest somewhere in Southern California. I’m wondering if anyone has any advice on investing in Southern California or any areas they would recommend for a new investor who doesn’t have a ton of money for a down payment. I’ve considered investing out of state, but I would prefer to be within a 50-100 miles of my investments in case anything goes wrong.

Thank you!

[Nabil Suleiman]

@Kaii Blanton @Cristine M.

Hello everyone, 

I think when you are a new investor there is a feeling of information overload and that can for sure feel overwhelming. One of the best decisions I made was to participate in local meetups in the area. I am a big fan of FIBI (Pasadena) and LAREI (San Gabriel) for the more formal arrive network and watch a speaker who will educate you on something they specialize in. I also co-host a meet up in Eagle Rock with @Adriel Liwag, which is a more laidback networking event where people from the area just get together and talk real estate, help answer questions or open up the perspective of how and what people are doing locally to invest. We also have a lot of people do out of state investing that come so it's a nice diverse mix. 

Some of the questions you will want to begin to ask yourself is the type of investor you want to be. I am sure you likely have your reasons why which will help direct the first question. In terms of suggestions, I think that will weigh heavily on those first two questions, and I would be happy to share what I do out here as well as some of the people I know.