Hello everyone - new to BP

[Luke Spence]

Good evening all. I hail from Monterey, CA and am new to real estate investing (I still have to google most of the acronyms). I own my own small condo but am looking to get into REI to start to bring in some extra cash flow. My current goals are to buy my first rental (thinking single family or a small multi-unit right now) before the end of the year. I would love to buy nearby, but I have about 30K to work with, so the local market in coastal California is out of reach. The nearest potential market might be the Fresno area and I'm also open to out of state properties (maybe through sites like Roofstock?).

All this is very preliminary because I'm still in the learning phase.  I'm watching videos and learning how to analyze properties.  I've got a lot to learn!  I guess my first question might be this:  Since my local market is so expensive, how do I look at a market far away that I'm not familiar with and decide if it's a good area for a potential rental?

Glad to be here!

[Jeff Zimmerman]

@Luke Spence good questions Luke, I've always found networking and putting boots on the ground to be best.  Googling articles is great as well just to learn everything you can.  RE is ultimately a very simple business and the basics are still your best bet.   If you'd ever like to talk fresno RE let me know! i'm also happy to introduce you to a few people that may be helpful.