Brand Spankin' New to Real Estate - Buying First MultiUnit by 18'

[Nicholas Johnson]

Hey Guys! Nick from MN here.

So excited to be joining this amazing community of entrepreneurs and investors. Bigger Pockets has been a GOLD MINE of information and I'm sucking it up as much as I can - through podcasts, books, etc. Here's some background on where I'm at in the purchasing process -- any advice you guys have is more than welcome!

My plan is to start with a "house hack" and get into a multi-unit property in the Minneapolis/St.Paul area. I've been looking heavily in a few areas and really trying to hone in on a market to target. I've heard about the BRRRR method and that is in the back of my mind as kind of the jumping off point from the duplex. First things first though -- get the multi-unit property purchased on an FHA through a local bank.

I've got little cash on hand but am putting away about $1500/mo. now, with 5k already in the bank (emergency fund). I'd like to leave that untouched. I'd prefer to keep the purchase under 200K but willing to go to 250K and figure it out. I'm not really looking to rehab this first duplex but I'm pretty handy and could see myself getting into some Single family homes from there.

Actions I've been taking: Searching Zillow / Realtor.com to find something that would cash flow when I move out, and at least break even or cash flow while I live in it. Driving around and looking at a few of the listings I find (no real hits yet -- couple of "wow, no wonder it hasn't sold yet" moments). And I plan to go for a drive this Saturday to get more familiar with a potential area to focus in on.

One thing I've been doing to find a good area is going on a couple city's economic development websites, and they have their city plan in there so you can read about what areas they are looking to cultivate and which areas maybe are less attractive to buyers. It was super helpful. Anyway enough with all my ranting. Want to say thanks to Bigger Pockets for putting this site together. I'm super grateful to have found the podcast/website and look forward to your suggestions / meeting you!

Nick