To invest or not to invest?

[Jose Guzman]

Looking for advice on when/how/what to invest for first property with my current situation:

Husband + wife, 3 kids and 1 due in September. Currently crammed into 2 BR apt and need more space ASAP.

Option 1 we considered purchasing a house for us to live in for a few years and then either sell/rent later on as we move on to something else.

Option 2: since property prices are so extremely high right now, we rent out a 4BR house and wait to purchase our first home some time next year so we can save for down pmt and hopefully prices drop (live in southern CA).

Just started learning from BP a month ago and we are serious about becoming investors and change our family’s life. Wisdom & direction from current investors would be greatly appreciated.

[Dennis Maynard]

@Dakota Burkeen Buying a 4 unit in Los Angeles right now is not necessarily a good idea.  We are in a situation in which people are leaving LA for the suburbs, and the City has put a moratorium on evictions while they keep people on lockdown.  Currently it is estimated that 26% of renters are not paying rent.  If you go on apartments.com and search City Of Los Angeles, you will see that there are currently 35,000 rentals available in the City.  This means a real correction in rental pricing is coming quick.  CBRE estimates that rental pricing across the country will fall by 8% over the next year.  As far as finding a home to live in, different story.  Depends on what and where?  Demand is high in some areas while other areas are offering up opportunities to negotiate.  Appreciate the outside the box thinking though.