San Francisco and Kansas City Investor - New to BP

[Lance Johnson]

I recently joined BP at the suggestion of a friend who has been following the forums and podcasts for some time. I currently hold two rental properties - one in San Francisco, and one in Kansas City, MO. I ended up with an investment in Kansas City primarily because of some social contacts I have there and the more favorable pricing available there vs. the Bay Area. 

I have owned my San Francisco property for about 7 years. I purchased it as my primary residence, but after 6 years, I moved out and kept it as a rental. Despite the high costs of doing business in SF, it is cash flowing. I was looking for another investment in late 2013, and ended up with a SFH in Kansas City, MO, which is also cash flowing - much better than the San Francisco property, both in nominal and real terms.

I'm primarily interested in Buy & Hold (or Rehab & Hold) for long-term wealth building and passive income; however, I am also very entrepreneurial, so I am always looking for the best strategy for current market conditions.

By day, I run a web design and development company here in San Francisco, and at the moment my goal is not to quit my day job any time soon.

I'm looking forward to getting more involved here at BP and getting to know everyone.

Lance

[Amit M.]

Hi @Lance Johnson 

I recommend you see the chart and read the following post about SF/bay real estate. The short of it is: cash flow pays the bills, but appreciation will make you rich. You're fortunate to have purchased already in SF with two big benefits: 1- you can pull cash out with your appreciated value and buy more RE. 2- condos are not under rent control in SF, so you can keep your rent at market rate (cha-ching!)  There are several of us in the Bay Area that favor investing locally due to the incredible appreciation rates. Here's the post:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/99/topics/135352-why-appreciation-matters-in-the-sf-bay-area