BRRRR in Los Angeles Santa Monica / Venice

[Elliott Perrigo]

My wife and I have been saving for a while and have lived by the beach in LA for a long time. We always thought our plan was to just do the traditional home purchase and save for retirement via 401k, etc. We are both successful and have lived in a rent controlled apartment by the beach for almost 10 years. With Covid, I have had some time to reflect and realized that we need to invest, rather than move to a tiny house in an "up and coming neighborhood" that we barely like for $1.5M. Then, maybe in a few years, we can afford to move somewhere else with passive income, or subsidize our mortgage with passive income,.

I am just really curious if anyone has tried starting their journey in a larger market. The only two markets I know are Seattle and Los Angeles and both are pretty expensive. We have a lot of cash to play with, but without the previous experience, it means risking--but also potentially gaining--a lot more.

I don't have a specific question, but am looking to start a discussion on here or a private conversation with someone who understands the market. As I see it, the options in my comfort zone are 1. buying and rehabbing STRs in Joshua Tree, 2. House Hacking in Santa Monica/Venice (although I am 37) 3. BRRRR in Los Angeles.

My goal is to move to more BRRRR long-term, but I think I have to prove to my wife that real estate investing is working before I can go all-in.