San Diego resident looking to invest out of state

[Michael Lambert]

Hey gang,

I’m Mike. I live in San Diego county and currently work for a wholesaler of electrical components. I'm totally new to real estate and am looking to educate myself. I've been listening to BP podcasts and audio books trying determine what niche I want to pursue. Right now I'm leaking toward a rental property. I’m looking to use what small amount of capital I have to invest out of state. I’ve considered Tucson Az, Houston Tx, and Cleveland Oh, because I have family in these areas but I’m defiantly open to other markets. 

Short-term goals: Familiarize myself with the industry and try and take in as much as I can; particularly in regards to creative finance and locating an ideal property. I made it to one of the local meet-ups in Escondido Ca. at the Stone Brewery but wasn’t able to stick around very long. I would be interested in attending more if there are any scheduled

Long-term goal: I would like to be able to scale the business up into flipping in southern California since this is where I live.

I'm excited to have BiggerPockets as a resource and I look forward to getting to know you all.

Cheers,

Mike

[Chris Pflum]

@Michael Lambert congratulations on your decision to invest in real estate.  Done right, it can be a tremendous builder of net worth and income.

I would strongly caution you against making your first investment out of state.  Things can go wrong in a hurry, and it's much easier to maintain control if you're there to oversee everything. Get your feet wet managing a local rental property, learn the ins and outs, and then start looking at other markets.