First Rental Property

[Raj Singh]

Good Afternoon Guys,

I am looking to purchase my first investment property in the Sacramento and/or Central Valley CA area. I am a little apprehensive as I have little experience with property investing and am concerned that it currently may not be the best time to buy. Having said that, I am very interested in purchasing my first rental property and am leaning more towards a duplex / fourplex. I am looking for a property in the region of $600,000 - $800,000 and would like to get some suggestions on the best areas in Sac / Central Valley where I can get the biggest bang for my buck. Please provide any suggestions and/or helpful tips.

Thanks!

[Yue Lehman]

Personally I think it's a great time to buy as buyers have more leverage compared to the past 2-3 years. One big question is what's your goal/plan of this purchase? Do you plan to buy something that needs to be updated or something that's basically ready to rent out? If you are willing to do some renovations, you have so many more opportunities as many first time home buyers only want to buy move-in ready homes. How much do you value cash flow vs appreciation? Do you need the cash flow ASAP or can you float it for a while if the appreciation opportunity is great? I think going through these questions will help you narrow down to a few buy pockets.