Raleigh investor in San Francisco

[Gabe C.]

Hello, everyone. My name is Gabe and I'm starting to get serious about real estate again after some time off. I've bought 5 properties over the last decade and a half, with some really good and really bad results (the bad yielding the most lessons), but I haven't been serious until now. My current plan of attack is to buy and hold townhomes in the Raleigh area until I achieve enough cash flow to retire from my day job. I'm hoping to be able to pull off 1 or 2 a year until I get to 10, at which point I may pay down for a bit and then reassess whether to keep going on the same strategy or not. I'm closing on my second one soon. I still have a ton to learn, but chose this niche to try to master one slice and to stay focused. I like townhomes because of their price range in this market, and I like the HOA benefits of external maintenance (when the price is right), but would love to hear pros and cons from anyone who may have dabbled in a similar strategy.

Meanwhile I'll be tearing through BP pods and forums. What a great resource! Hope to make some new friends!

[Matt Rothwell]

@Gabe C., would you mind posting the numbers for your recent Raleigh town home purchases? Are you cash flowing or just speculating on appreciation?