New Investor in Brooklyn, NY.

[Dan Barman]

Hi BP community, my name is Dan Barman. I'm a pro studio and touring musician (drum set) living in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. My wife and I currently have most of our investments in various stocks & bonds and are are looking tooward real estate as a new investment option to; 1. Generally diversify our overall investment strategy, 2. Invest for retirement (currently 36 y/o), 3. Generate additional monthly income to help with the growing expenses of raising a family in New York City (currently have a 1 y/o baby girl). We're totally new to real estate investing (although we sold a townhouse in San Jose, CA a few years back as part of a family trust I was managing). We would love any general thoughts and feedback those of you with experience might have to lend and have a couple of general questions below in case anyone feels like sharing.

We originally were looking at buying a single family home with the intention of having renters cover the mortgage etc. and hold the property long-term as it gained in value. Now we're thinking we'd like to start with something that can generate additional income right out the gate and a broker friend suggested we look at some 2-4 unit multi-family properties instead, so that is the direction we've started to look in. Good idea / bad idea? What are some things / questions we as first-timers might not think to look for / ask? We've never been landlords before so would love any advice on things to keep in mind going forward.

Thanks everyone, looking forward to getting to know the BP community and to starting this new (and hopefully lucrative) adventure.

-Dan