New investor in Chattanooga TN

[Matt Davis]

Hi everybody,

I'm a new guy who has been priced out of my own market (SF East Bay), so I'm just learning about the complexities of buying in other markets. I've made a quite a few offers to buy places in my area over the past couple years, but the number haven't lined up for what I can afford so I'm looking elsewhere. Chattanooga is what I'm thinking since I have friends travel there occasionally for work who can help me fact check things from time to time if need be, and I can afford things like multi-units. I will buy something to rent out by the end of the year, I just want to find something where I can afford to make mistakes since I know I will. I learn best by doing though, so may as well learn soon instead of kicking the can down the road.

For my background - I work in software implementation and have an undergrad degree and masters in Industrial Engineering. I've been listening to bigger pockets occasionally for a while now, but it's been picking up since I realized I'm going to need to manage property, not just live somewhere and rent out the extra rooms. Now I'm also getting to the point where I need to learn how to analyze the deals I see on MLS, since I've always been a numbers driven guy. I have my own spreadsheet for running the numbers, but I am sure I am missing plenty and my estimates are off.

Thanks for taking the time to read this! If I can help y'all out in any way, I would love to - just let me know how. I look forward to learning from you all as I lurk through the forums for now. I already see plenty of people from Chattanooga, which absolutely great :) I stayed up too late reading through things, so I'll end this long post here and catch some shut eye.