Expat Australian in Los Angeles

[Andrew Enness]

Hi Bigger Pockets,

I've been lurking here for a couple of months, checking in occasionally to absorb the wealth of information. I felt it time to introduce myself.

I'm an expat Australian  (from Melbourne), having become a permanent US resident in 2009. I've spent the majority of my time living in NYC.

After 7 years in  NYC my partner Sarah and I decided it was time for a change of pace and different lifestyle so we made the decision to drive across the country and ended up in  Los Angeles. We spent nine days driving across the US which was great experience. We travel a little with the US for work though doing it at our own pace and agenda was great.

I'm self employed and my partner is on a W2, we've managed to build decent US credit and have just "ok" incomes. We were both starting from nothing when we moved here, both fresh out of college/university in Australia. Living in NYC was great, though an expensive bubble. I burnt through my savings and had accumulated some CC debt as it took me a while to find work in NYC when first arriving, I eventually got it all paid off 4 years later. 

The drive across the country and the move to Los Angeles has opened our minds a little as to what is out there and the possibility of investing in real estate. We have managed to put away some savings since moving to CA and are now considering our investment options both locally and interstate. I have a little flexibility in time with my self employment so much of the responsibility for moving into real estate initially relies upon me.

Locally, we've been considering the FHA (3.5% down) loan Duplex/Fourplex option and "house hacking" instead of continuing to rent. My concern with this would be the debt to Income ratio it would leave us with given the higher property prices and how this may limit me from doing future deals. The cashflow numbers (subsidize of outgoing rental checks) could be ok.

Interstate we'd be looking at Turnkey and the BRRR strategy as it is commonly referred to here. The BRRRR is much more appealing for me. I was in Memphis in August 2017 and met with a turnkey provider whilst there though I'm still leaning towards the BRRRR strategy. Now its a matter of looking to build a team in a market. I spent some time in SLC, Utah from 2004 to 2006 and like it there though not sure if the numbers will work anymore. I haven't been out there since but wouldn't mind a reason to travel there every so often. A friend who is interested in partnering on a property own's an investment property outright in Las Vegas that he has set up with a Property Manager working well for him though we're not sure the LV numbers will make sense these days. The same friend travels to Utah to see family a couple of times a year so from that perspective, neither of us would mind traveling to UT. I will be looking at cities where I can potentially put together a team or trusted people should we end up going out of state.

I'm continuing the education process for the time being though looking to get some hands on experience in 2018.