How to choose the price range and location of your first property

Question

Hey Guys!

I just joined BP yesterday and am excited to be apart of this group!

Desperate to not work my 9-5 job my whole life, and to build wealth for myself and my family, I jumped on Google and started searching…I eventually came across real estate investing and started listening to podcasts. I quickly knew this is exactly where I want to be. I just discovered the BP podcast this week and have been thoroughly enjoying listening.
Financial freedom is definitely my biggest goal and I am ready to begin my investing journey, I just don’t know exactly where to begin…

How would you suggest I choose a specific area to invest? And what price range would you suggest for a newbie like myself?

Chris Jeub · Answer

I'd encourage you to "house hack." Find a property you can buy that has potential to rent out rooms or ADUs. As you learn you'll branch off to other properties and grow your empire. I'm on that path now and I love it!

Cameron Braig · Answer

Hi Josh,

Congrats on getting started and welcome to the forum. Some good identifiers of growth markets can be; population growth, income growth, job growth, job diversification and of course, rent growth. These can help with growth market identification and based on your goals, plans, etc. could help filter out some of the noise. The effects have COVID have accelerated the performance of some markets so it can be just as important to identify the growth markets of the past couple years vs the previous ten. Best of luck as you get started.

Theresa Harris · Answer

Run the numbers on your current home and see what it would look like if you rented it. Not all homes make for a good rental.  Buying a duplex is a good idea, even if you lived there for a year or two and then moved back into your current home.

For prices, talk to your bank to see how much you can borrow.  For houses, it depends on what you want and how much houses cost in your area.  A good starter home often works well.  Ideally something with at least 2 beds and 2 baths.  Make sure the bedrooms are a good size.

Justin Windham · Answer

@Josh Hall

Welcome to Bigger Pockets!

If you are looking to invest into real estate, I have found this site to be incredibly helpful.

I really like the alerts feature that can quickly guide you to current topics that may be of interest: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alerts

There are a few self-contained guides that you can access here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/guides

Julio Gonzalez · Answer

Glad to have you as a part of this awesome community, Josh!

You found the right place for information.

Josh Hall · Answer

If I were to purchase a duplex in order to house hack, would you recommend turning my current home into a rental?

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

We don't know what your financial situation is, but I would say you should get a duplex or triplex, live in one unit and rent the other(s). You can learn slowly as you gain experience and equity, and then move on to buy more properties either by keeping the first and refi'ing, or selling it and buying more.

Ask questions on here and do a lot of learning....

Josh Hall · Answer

I am really interested in long term rentals with Single Family or duplex, triplex, ect. Thanks for the info!

How to choose the price range and location of your first property

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