New buy-and-hold investor from Saratoga CA

[Joel Fine]

Hi Bigger Pockets Community!

My name is Joel Fine. I'm a new investor from San Jose, California. (Well, new to Real Estate investing. I've been in the stock market for a few decades.)

Real estate is absurdly expensive here in Silicon Valley, and residential rental property doesn't cash flow well at all. So I'm looking strictly out of state. I'm starting in Austin, Texas, because it is a growing, thriving area, and my wife and I want to move there someday. I am closing on my first property today, a 4/2.5 SFR that is almost rent-ready as-is, and should cash flow reasonably well.

My plan is to buy 1-2 more properties in Austin, then branch out into other areas of the country. I'm looking at various cities in the midwest and southeast where the rent-to-purchase price is better than Austin. Tennessee, Missouri, Alabama, Georgia are possibilities.

Eventually, if I can do well with a few SFR's, I'd like to move into multi-family, perhaps starting with duplexes and triplexes and eventually apartment complexes. My dream is to buy distressed properties, rehab them, rent them out, leverage other people's money to scale up, and hold my properties forever - basically the BRRRR strategy that @Brandon Turner and @Joshua Dorkin teach.

I'm glad I found Bigger Pockets - a great resource. Hi all!

[Alina Trigub]

@Joel Fine Welcome to BP community! Go through the Education section to learn as much as possible. Also, if you're into multifamily, then continue reading books on multifamily real estate investing. I'd start with David Lindahl books and Steve Berges on apartment investing. Both are great reads. Also, consider attending local REI networking events in the area you're planning to move/buy properties. It is always helpful to network with local investors and establish professional relationship.

Best!