Rookie from Orange County, CA

[Robert Portal]

Hello everyone!

My name is Robert Portal and I am new to the real estate world. I live in Anaheim, CA and one of the recurring things I keep hearing is that Orange County is a rather difficult market to get into. Any advise on that?

I have had great interest for this field but never really amounted to take action. I have proposed myself to change that and learn as much as I can from all of you. My short term goals include owning residential type properties (condos, SFRs, 2-4 plex) and gain enough experience to move into my long term goals which would be dealing with commercial type properties.

I currently work for a sales and marketing company and have been since I graduated college. After some time I realized that this is not what I want to do with my life but I have been saving some money in order to move on to the REI world. I'm very excited to hopefully start this journey soon with BPs and your help.

Thank you,

Robert

[Karen Margrave]

@Robert Portal Welcome to BP! If you haven't done so yet, you might want to read The Beginner's Guide also, check out some of the Podcasts.

Every region of the country has its own unique market. The secret to making money is being able to understand the market you are interested in. In areas where there is high unemployment, a lot of vacant properties, etc. there are good buys on homes. If you can pick them up cheap enough and rent them out for enough to cover expenses with a little cash flow, that's one way to go.

In areas such as O.C., we have very low unemployment 4-5%, a broad based economy, well qualified buyers, and so many positives, there is a high demand for properties. In such areas the highly discounted properties are rare. Even within O.C. however; there are sub markets, like the higher priced coastal areas, and the lower priced inland markets. Depending on what your long term strategy is, the type of properties you want to own, etc. there are many options here.

For instance, the coastal areas are expensive. At the same time, for someone wanting to do vacation rentals, there can be some great opportunities. Also, for fix and flips, if you are very diligent in searching, you can find opportunities to pick them up. However; the profit margins are going to be tight, and the more work you can do yourself, the better.

On the other hand, in areas such as O.C. appreciation is usually pretty strong, as there's really few lots available for new construction, therefore; as the market continually improves, the demand for existing homes increases driving up prices. Right now there are a lot more homes coming on the market, so it still may be a good time to buy. Unfortunately, even low end houses in O.C. are still expensive.

I don't know your financial situation, so I can't advise you specifically. However; if you want to get in with a starter type property, maybe a well located condo that needs updated, or ? would be a wise choice.