Smaller pockets hoping to be bigger someday

[Christopher Hagan]

Hello! I'm excited to be a part of the BP community. Really looking forward to the journey ahead.

I've got a modest sum of money that I would like to use to get started in real estate investing.  I have studied, and studied more - while there is obviously much more for me to learn, I am ready to start reaching out and networking and talking to people. I know the real learning will come with that first deal.

I moved to Columbus, OH from Portland, OR about a year ago... spent 10 years in Oregon. TBH, i didn't really know anything about Columbus other than OSU is here. Seems like I missed the investment boat by a few years. Sad, considering the same thing happened to me in Portland...had I bought a house there in 2011, i'd be sitting on 300% appreciation. Insane. But that wasn't my goal back then so can't worry about it now.

My goal now is to try do multi-family BRRRR and hold for cash flow. I gather this is everyone's goal so it's a bit crowded. Maybe it's impossible. I would love to hear if anyone has had any success doing this! However, there aren't any 4 families in Columbus, it seems. In fact, of the duplexes I've analyzed in Cbus...the math is not working out. Doesn't mean there aren't any deals, I guess, but the purchase price is too high and rents too low... Maybe I need some help analyzing deals - I could be overly conservative in my numbers but it seems prudent to assume high expenses (10% vacancy, cap ex, prop management). Also, after factoring in rehab costs...I'm not convinced the ARVs are high enough to make BRRRR feasible.

Lastly, I am originally from the St. Louis area and know that city very well. My family is still there so I'm back often, enough that I'm considering it as a place to invest also. That said, I'm considering anywhere within 5-6 hours of St. Louis and central Ohio. I met with a realtor in STL this past weekend, she said she would e-mail me some examples today and I never heard from her. Guess I'm not that big of a priority. Sad.

Thanks all, hope to connect. If you're in Cbus or STL, let's meet up!

[Brandon Turner]

Nice to meet ya, @Christopher Hagan! Welcome to the site! Can't tell ya much about your area, but you've got the right mindset! Just keep looking, find creative ways to find those deals, and then get great at analyzing! Work that process! :)