New Member in the Sacramento Area Starting Out with RE Investing

[Seham Afaghani]

The short of it:

Hey BP! My name is Seham and I am a new member based in the Sacramento, CA area. I have always loved looking at real estate as a hobby (started out as a kid going to open houses with Mom and Dad when they made their first home purchase), and recently the light bulb turned on and I have decided that I want to jump into investing. A few years back (2014), I bought my first home in Oakland, CA after looking for ways to build wealth and realizing that I could put money into my own pocket (albeit not very quickly) by buying a house. Now, I am selling my house and relocating to the Sacramento area. My plan is to take the money from the sale of my Oakland house and reinvest it into multiple properties to start off my investing career--I'm just not sure where and if I should go SFH or multifamily.

Anxities (The long of it): 

Prices are going up quickly in Sacramento area and rents don't necessarily seem to be going up at the same rate, so I'm having a little anxiety about finding a good deal. I like the idea of investing out of state (need to get that BP book!), but it seems like it could be risky and I'd need to identify a good market to invest in (any tips welcome). I have also had a hell of a time getting some major work done on my Oakland house, so I am pretty wary of contractors and getting burned by shoddy work, and lengthy timelines and delays (I'd like to think I learned a thing or two, though!). As a result of that experience, the BRRR strategy seems a little scary to me (especially long distance) at the same time as sounding like a great idea. I want good cash flow so I can (relatively) quickly build up my portfolio and stop selling my time for money, so multifamily sounds like an effective way to get good cash flow but it also seems like it's harder to find a good deal.

And also:

There is so much to learn and I'm feeling a little unfocused in my information consumption, and don't want to miss anything important before jumping into my first deal(s). Any links to a beginner's curriculum of study (e.g. the top couple of books to read, or the main topics you should study before jumping in) on the BP site or elsewhere would be much appreciated.

And finally:

I would love to connect with folks both in my area and out of area, so let's! I'm interested in connecting on both casually and professionally, so would love to hear from seasoned investors and the greenest of the green. So, holler!

Thanks Everyone! See you in the forums.