Newbie from Escondido (San Diego County) CA

[Vanessa Peters]

I picked up a copy of Brandon's book "The Book on Rental Property Investing" by chance at Barnes and Noble just a few weeks ago. I was actually looking for a book on how to successfully buy and rent out short term vacation rentals, but when I saw Brandon's book I realized that was much more what I was looking for, not the fluff of how to write an ad for Airbnb or how to lock up your possessions when you go out of town. 

I was hoping to buy a place for my family to vacation as well as make money to cover expenses, looking at South Lake Tahoe, or Big Bear, but after running the numbers (thanks to the Rental Property Calculator) I can see that it's a long shot to make that work, especially from far away. 

So for the past week or so I've been learning as much as I can about real estate investing. I already have a SFH in Murrieta that I bought in 2008 for $225,000 and it has appreciated to $450,000. I am applying for a HELOC on that property and looking to invest some cash and HELOC funds in a new property. I would love to stay close to home, Inland Empire is an option, but most of CA is so expensive so San Diego county is not an option for me. I would consider out of state in the right situation also.

I like the idea (alot) of getting a small 2-4 unit multifamily property to start this year and see how that goes.  Eventually I would like to have 5-10 buy and hold properties in my portfolio. 

I work full time as a Family Practice doc in Escondido for the past 16 years and love it but also love the idea of financial freedom, working less and creating a legacy for my family. 

I LOVE the Bigger Pockets Podcast and am obsessively listening to as many episodes as I can, learning so much from every guest!