Transitioning From Buying to Investing

[Devin Garrett]

Hi All,  

I'm new to Bigger Pockets and Real Estate Investment.  I've bought a couple homes in the past and done well for myself but I never realized the potential Real Estate has to offer.  Now that I've discovered BP I'm consuming knowledge and am eager to make my first deal.  I'm interested in everything BP has to offer but am looking to do some house hacking and multi-family to get my feet wet.  I'm in the California Central Valley area which appears to be an area with high appreciation:

 https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2014/12/3...

Be that as it may I'm still eager to find a great deal and even more eager to learn and connect with like minded people.  

Thanks!

[Anthony Dooley]

@Devin Garrett you would be wise to learn how to evaluate a deal, then look at everything in your market in order to find a deal that makes sense. Appreciation is great, but cash flow is more important. When the market cools, cash flow will keep flowing. Learn to calculate value, cap rate, cash on cash return, etc based on the current rent. Run the numbers on everything you can find. What you will find is that your return, in your market, isn't as much as a good mutual fund. I have family in Turlock, and I have tried to make sense of investing there, and I couldn't compared to other areas of the country. First learn, then decide.