Another newb - Orange County, CA

[Tom G.]

Hey everyone!

I figured I'd step out from the shadows and take the first step and introduce myself. I don't know how I initially found this site (I think I may have actually stumbled on a member's blog) but I am glad I did. I have been reading the forums and listening to the podcasts on my runs these past few months and finally decided to take josh's and brandon's advice to get more involved with BP.  I really have learned a TON from BP.

I'm really interested in buy-hold rentals but can't seem to find anything worth while in southern california (maybe I'm looking in the wrong places).  So have recently started to look in out of state markets instead.

Thanks and I look forward to learning and contributing to BP!

[Elizabeth Colegrove]

Welcome to Biggerpocket!

We are buy and hold investors with full time jobs. We buy both locally in Central Valley and pure out of state. We have done very well out of states buying class A property, with lower returns but keeping the margins very tight. We self-manage, have very low vacancy, low maintenance costs and overall no manager fee.  You just can make up for not being there in person. So Although you will have better cash flows it will cost you more money. We have done well in central valley, CA. That is actually where we are investing now. We also invest in Charleston as we found it back when we were within driving distance.

Definitely check out the blogs, podcast and forums. Another great source of information is individual blogs found in peoples signatures. Many of us including myself write about our niche. The only thing we all agree about is investing in Real Estate. Beyond that there are many different style and types of investing. My blog/website is about long distance self management, landlording, investing in class A investments, investing in a transient lifestyle, etc.

Good Luck ! Look forward to seeing you around!