New member from San Francisco, California

[Paul Ryan]

'ello everyone!

My name is Paul-Ryan and I'm new to Bigger Pockets.  I'm looking to figure out how to build a portfolio of properties to provide long-term income to eventually be able to retire. Although I live in San Francisco and rent out two rooms in the condo I live in, it's not a practical or financially feasible place to purchase rental property so I'm looking at doing this outside the bay area.

It's easy to get information overload while going through all the information. I don't know how to assess what areas would be the best - or even reasonable - to purchase properties to rent out.  People talk about forming a 'team' and finding a good real estate agents to help, but having never done that...is it just a hit and miss kind of thing?

Some of the things I read say that income property should be producing 10-12% of mortgage to be a sound investment? does that sound accurate? Any suggestions on things to read or insights are greatly appreciated!

Paul-Ryan

[Gabe C.]

@Paul Ryan welcome! I am doing the same exact thing. I'm in SF buying rentals in Raleigh, NC. It's 1/10 the price and easy to scoop them up if you have a good team. Do you know any areas outside SF like the back of your hand? If not Sacramento seems drivable/affordable too.

I tend to buy in appreciating areas without trying too hard, and focus mainly on cash flow. You can try the BP calculators to analyze a few properties and get a sense of which numbers to worry about. Feel free to PM me if you want more info.

Also, some good books to check out: The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller, and Building Wealth One House At A Time by John Schaub were crucial for me. In that order. The former is a comprehensive breakdown of soup to nuts and the latter has some overlap, but is more like talking to a mentor.