Architect - New to BP & REI - HCOL Market

[Tucker Marshall]

Hello BP!

My name is Tucker, I am a multi-family Architect, I live in San Francisco, and I am quite new to BP and REI in general. I have always wanted to get involved with you all, but always felt the HCOL of the Bay Area was an impassable hurdle. Listening to David Greene's webinar last night made me realize that long-distance REI may be my way in and eventually I can work my way back to Bay Area. Long-term I want to produce a portfolio of rental properties that will support a future career in developing and designing my own real estate projects.

So basically I have some large questions before getting started and I am really hoping you all can help me out. I have a few listed below, but please do not feel the need to follow those prompts...any advice would really be greatly appreciated!

1. I have been accepted into a local Part-Time MBA program in the Fall but I am still on the fence for attending. I want an education in accounting, investment and real estate tax law but with the $50k cost of the overall program it seems more of a hindrance than a help. Is self-education the way to go?

2. For those of you in HCOL markets, did you start out looking at long-distance markets first, or house hack locally, or manage to still find solid to opportunities at low cost within driving distance to BRRRR or flip? What route do you feel was most successful?

3. I want to leverage being a licensed architect as much as possible during the REI acquisition and rehabilitation. Any specific insights on how best to do that in your experiences?

Hope you all are doing well, and I really appreciate you for taking the time to help out a rookie!

Best,

T

[Eric Teran]

@Tucker Marshall I'll jump into the conversation as a fellow Architect also playing the Architect + Developer game. There are a few threads with fellow architects who are entering the REI field. I don't know why more architects don't do it as we have the knowledge to find properties that others don't through zoning and building codes.

I think hands on experience and not being afraid of a calculated risk is the best form of education. take that $50k and invest it somewhere. I have three rentals in Quito, Ecuador and rent our basement in Alexandria, VA and it has been a great learning experience.

I also started my own architecture firm in 2018 and around half my clients are REI investors. I have found that understanding how an REI investor thinks has allowed me to grow my firm rapidly and additionally I have numerous contacts in the REI world. A few which I hope to partner with on bigger deals this coming year.

In my opinion there is nothing more valuable than real world experience.

Good luck.