Apartment Manager in San Francisco looking to buy rental properties in Kalkaska Michigan

[Arthur E.]

Howdy all! I'm Arthur from San Francisco and I started listening to the BP podcast a couple weeks ago. I'm already pretty hooked, so I figured I'd introduce myself. Hopefully you guys won't mind me sharing where I'm at in my REI journey.

I have been an apartment manager for the past 15 years and really I don’t mean to brag, but I’m very good at it. I know how to keep costs down, keep tenants happy, and keep rents maximized. I make a programmer’s wage, don’t pay rent, have no debt, and understand the ins and outs of managing 15 to 30 unit buildings very well. It seems like the only thing wrong with my situation is that I’ve waited until my 30s to start investing in real estate.

When I first started looking around it became painfully clear that I wouldn't be able to invest in the San Francisco area anytime soon, so I started looking around my very small home town in Northern Lower Michigan. The town I come from is about 2,000 people but the total population of the entire county is about 17,000. There's about 3 apartment complexes in town and all of them are full with a waiting list. One of my cousins has a rental property SFH and she has no trouble renting it out. I also have my entire family still living in this town and they would help me manage any properties that I own. I even have a brother that does building inspections for the state.

Right now I have about $25,000 liquid that I can invest. My plan is to start out with a 3/2 single family home that costs somewhere between $50,000 and $75,000. I should be able to rent this property for $750 per month. If I put 25% down my costs will be Mortgage $250, taxes $80, insurance $20, and I’ll say $50 for maintenance/misc. That leaves me with a cash flow of about $350 a month.

Does this seem like a good idea for getting my feet wet or is there a better way?

Thanks all!  So far BP has been an incredible resource and hopefully I'll be able to give back along the way!