Beginner from Vancouver, WA

[Irina Kovalenno]

Stumbled across this app by looking for some ideas on the internet. A little about me: Ever since immigrating to this wonderful county 25 years ago, I remember dad wishing all of his children to own a piece of real estate. Seemed impossible to a man who brought his 4 children with just $400 cash and a $5000 debt to the Lutheran Church for the flight to the US. A lot has changed since, this is truly a land of opportunity! The love for real estate instilled by my dad is still in me. In addition to owing our home, I now own 2 rentals. Lately, I have been entertaining the idea of going into commercial properties. My husband is very hands on, General construction contractor. There are so many of you on here who don’t mind pouring their knowledge and wisdom into the new generation of investors. What advise would you give someone who had $40k and wanted to invest into real estate? I am in the Vancouver, WA area.

[Brian Ploszay]

I think that you should invest locally.  The reason is that area is more than solid - Portland and Seattle are areas for growth.  

Commercial  real estate is a specialty, and I wouldn't recommend that for a novice investor.  Both office and retail real estate are fundamentally changing.  People order more from the internet, for example, leaving the possibility of excess commercial space.