Hello All! Newbie investor here, from California

[Ralph Naval]

Greetings to All and Happy New Year! My name is Ralph Naval and I’m new to the REI world but very excited to be joining the BP family. I stumbled onto BiggerPockets as part of my journey to grow my knowledge in this industry and could not be more thankful for all the info and good people found here. A little about myself: I work as a pharmaceutical chemist in Orange County and live in LA County. I enjoy spending my free time hiking, hanging with friends and reading. My immediate goal is to live in a small multi family and practice “landlord-ing” and property management. In 2 years or less, I want to generate enough rental income to replace the work income of my girlfriend (soon to be wife) and create our ideal situation for raising a family. That’s all for now, so thanks for taking the time to hear me out (hope my post wasn’t too long!). I look forward to connecting with you all and wish you all the best. Thanks! -Ralph

[Ali Boone]

Hi Ralph! Ooh, pharmaceutical chemist...that sounds fancy :) And we're neighbors...I'm in Venice.

If your goal is to replace the work income of your girlfriend, just be sure you are up on running numbers as you start shopping. To replace an income, you have to have cash flow. There's not typically much for cash flow in SoCal. So if cash flow is the goal, you'll have to get creative. Out-of-state offers cash flow, or you have to work the appreciation route here. Even that is sketchy right now because we are closer to peak prices right now than not. 

Not trying to be a buzzkill, but just want to emphasize how important running the numbers will be if that is your goal!

(if you want any help on them, check out https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/01/1...)

Reach out anytime if you ever have questions!