Good morning from new member, Hood River (call it Portland) Oregon

[Julie O.]

Hello BP community,

I'm a 38 year old from Hood River (1 hour east of Portland), Oregon. I've been soaking in the BP site and podcasts for about a year now, and have finally signed-up. I began REI by moving primary residences after the bottom dropped out of the PDX market, so it made more sense to hold an rent than sell. Since prices were low and interest rates were great at that time, my husband and I tossed all of our savings into local real estate and ended up with 5 local rental properties. Looking back, we were lucky to have been at the right place at the right time (though had we known half of what we now know, we could have done better).

Roughly six years later, the local deals are gone, so we are looking outside of our local market. We recently acquired 4 SFR in the Houston, TX area and are discovering the pros and cons of investing out of state. As we work to smooth out those cons, we are optimistic about additional out of state investments, as buying for cash flow in the PDX area isn't very likely right now. We're hoping to continue working in the Houston market and have our eye on Indiana as well.

As a lurker, I've gained so much from the BP community; the site is great!  Looking forward to more active involvement!