Newbie from San Diego, CA- help me with Out of State Investing!

[Alisa Hilton]

Hi, My name is Alisa Hilton and I'm from San Diego, CA and I want to be an investor in buy and hold out-of-state rental properties (how's my lingo so far?) I've never done anything in real estate except my parents did own and manage a beach front vacation rental when I was growing up and I know it is a lot of work! Right now I'm working full-time as a sales manager for a food company which I love, but I'm dreaming about passive income and financial freedom too! 

I have been listening to the Bigger Pockets podcasts, attended the webinars, and read Brandon Turner's "The Book on Rental Property Investing" and everyone's favorite "Rich Dad, Poor Dad". Needless to say, I've done my homework and taking all the advice! Now I have started analyzing deals on Roofstock.. (how does everyone feel about Roofstock? Scammy?) I've got my floaties, goggles, and swim suit but I'm not ready to take the plunge! Partly COVID related fear, and partly newbie fear.... So I'm looking to connect with anyone that wants to talk shop! 

I think where I am having trouble is selecting where I want to invest... The world of RE investing is boundless! So any tips on how to select a market would be fantastic. 

Thanks for reading my post and I hope to connect with you soon!! 

PS I want to add that I am serious about investing and the time you decide to spend on me will not be in vain! I promise! 

[Lee Ripma]

@Alisa Hilton

I echo what others have said about SD having a great ROI but not necessarily a lot of cash flow. I started out of state and now I invest both in CA and out of state. When you start posting - where should I invest? You'll usually get agents and TK providers promoting the market they sell in, nothing wrong with it, but it's objective advice.

I just picked a midwest market and got started. I’m glad I learned in a lower cost market where I could afford to make some mistakes. Here is the general advice I would give people thinking about starting OOS: the team you have REALLY matters, buy at least a duplex, don’t be suckered by D class returns on paper, you want to buy rentals in B to C areas, find a great property manager. Find people you can trust to work with. You don’t need to use a turnkey compact to buy a turnkey product!