New CA resident looking for out of state investment

[Bryan C.]

Hi,

I have just finished reading Brandon Turner's Book on Rental Property Investing and I am brand new to these forms.

I have saved about $130K which is not enough for downpayment where I live (Mountain View, CA). The prices here are surreal and I have decided to not purchase here as I will likely not be here my to many years.

I have decided I would rather purchase some rental units out of state where I am investing for cash flow rather than speculation. The only problem is I am only familiar with the real estate markets in California which do not offer good ROI. I currently own a condo in San Diego which I rent out; I figure that's enough CA property for now.

Is there a section in BP for out of state real estate investors? I have a few friend's who have invested out of state (Boca Raton FL, Dallas TX, Tulsa OK) but I figure I would post here and get more ideas.

I am basically looking to either purchase:

- A Single Family home for cash with purchase price around $100-$120K; After 6 months I will re-finance to free up my cash again.

- 2 Single Family Home's with downpayment around $30K each and purchase price's around $100-$120K each.

- Multiple Units (Triplex, fourplex) with $60K Down and finance the rest with purchase price around $200 - $240K.

I will obviously have lot's of analysis' to do. However, I am hoping to get some insight as to what neighborhood's look attractive for landord's in the U.S. at the moment. This way I do not waste time looking at crappy parts of town's before realizing they are not ideal places to own.

Any insight will be much appreciated. Thanks!

Once I am done analyzing, I plan on flying out to the city I decide on to get the deal done.

[David Faulkner]

Newbies are funny ... so narrow minded in thinking that investing for anything other than cash flow is speculation. If you open your mind a bit, slow down, and take a look around, you'd see lots of investors (not speculators) consistently making great returns all around you and may learn a thing or two from them. There are speculators too, no doubt ... I am thankful for them, as they keep me supplied pennies on the dollar deals every down turn.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against investing for cash flow, just think it is a bad idea to put all your trust and money into a out of state provider and buy something far away in a market you know nothing about before you know what you are doing; that looks a lot more like speculation to me. To do it on the premise that there are no good investment opportunities locally because prices are high and anything that isn't cash flow is speculation is even worse. Cash flow is an important thing, but it is not the only thing. Forced appreciation is not speculation.

I have nothing to sell and wish you luck either way, just think there are much bigger risks down the path you're headed than you seem to realize.