New Investor from Sacramento

[Tyler Haskell]

Hello everyone,

My name is Tyler Haskell, I am 26 years old and live in Sacramento. I currently own a small parking lot seal coating and striping business in Sacramento, and spent 5 years in the Marine Corps before that as an Arabic Linguist and Intelligence guy.

About two months ago, I read Rich Dad Poor Dad and since then have become absolutely addicted to real estate. I started listening to the BP podcast religiously, and was reading 2-3 REI books a week. I always invested in the stock market and never really considered REI. I am incredibly excited to begin investing.

I am new to REI and looking to expand my knowledge and my network. I am seeking positive people that also have a passion for real estate that would allow me to learn from their experience and expertise.

I am also looking to acquire my first deal.

My first question:

Are markets that suffer from an inventory shortage typically much harder to find deals for buy and hold investing? Do these markets favor rehab and flips? Sacramento seems to be a sellers market at the moment with a shortage of houses. Although I have only been looking for about a month, I cannot seem to find any single family homes that would positive cash flow. Nothing seems to come close to the 20% discount against comps or even rent near 1.5% of purchase price. 

Perhaps I just do not know how to spot a deal yet, I have been looking on Craigslist, MLS, Loopnet, walking and driving neighborhoods, and calling all friends and family.

Sorry for the long post and its really cool to be a part of this great community!

Tyler Haskell