New to BP investing in IL but based in CA

[Damian Lay]

Hi All,

New to the forum here. 

I currently reside in Fresno, CA and looking to invest in a MFR (buy-hold) in the near future. I own a SFR in Champaign IL, that's paid off and generating about 1k in income per month. I'm currently looking for a MFR/Duplex/4plex to expand my portfolio.

A couple of questions:

- What is the best way to finance my next property if I don't have a lot cash on hand for a loan down-payment? 

- Should I focus on looking for properties in IL or CA closer to where I am ?

- Should I sell my property in IL and focus on central CA closer to where I am?

Any advice or input would be appreciated!
Damian

[James Wise]

Originally posted by @Damian Lay:

Hi All,

New to the forum here. 

I currently reside in Fresno, CA and looking to invest in a MFR (buy-hold) in the near future. I own a SFR in Champaign IL, that's paid off and generating about 1k in income per month. I'm currently looking for a MFR/Duplex/4plex to expand my portfolio.

A couple of questions:

- What is the best way to finance my next property if I don't have a lot cash on hand for a loan down-payment? 

- Should I focus on looking for properties in IL or CA closer to where I am ?

- Should I sell my property in IL and focus on central CA closer to where I am?

Any advice or input would be appreciated!
Damian

 Welcome to the site Damian. Many people who decide to invest outside of California do it for the cash flow that is abundant in the Mid Western markets. Tons of turnkey markets out there. Many are well represented by sellers & turnkey operators here on BiggerPockets (myself included) The most popular markets are

• Cleveland
• Toledo
• Memphis
• Birmingham
• KC
• Indy
• Detroit

Each of these markets is popular with turnkey investors because of the low barrier to entry, high rental demand & high rent to price ratio. I recommend setting up keyword alerts for each area as they are discussed in the forums daily with advertisements posted in the BiggerPockets marketplace hourly.

One thing to note when looking at the individual markets, you can make or loose money in any market. Don't think that one particular out of state market will shoot you to success or abject failure. It's not really that complicated to buy out of state. It only becomes complicated when investors try to over complicate or over think everything. Whenever you are buying a property out of state you should do a few things to ensure it's as smooth as possible.

• Don't buy in the roughest neighborhood in the urban core. Pick a solid B-Class suburban area. Perhaps a nice 1950's built bungalow.
• Always hire a 3rd party property inspector to give you an unbiased feel for the home. The reports are 40-90 pages long and go through the entire house in great detail.
• Get an appraisal. If your using financing the bank requires this. This is good. The bank isn't going to let you blow their money. They have more skin in the game then you do.
• Make sure you get clear title. If using a lender this is a non issue. They will make you do this. It's those maniacs that buy homes cash via quit claim deed off of craigslist that really get screwed.
• Make sure your property manager is a licensed real estate brokerage.
• Understand you can not eliminate all risk, only mitigate it. If you are risk adverse real estate, (especially out of state) is not for you.