Starting Out in Los Angeles

[Martin D.]

Hello BiggerPockets community,

First of all, let me start by thanking all of you for being so generous with your time and being so active on this platform. I found this place by accident a few months ago and have come back almost daily since. I've listened to many podcasts, bought your books, read posts from other users... and enjoying every moment of this learning process. I had always been curious about real estate but was trapped in a scarcity mentality due to my upbringing and can now see how changing my state of mind opens up so many possibilities in my life. Thanks for all the inspiring content you have been providing to this community !

A bit about myself, I grew up back in forth between France and the USA and decided to move permanently to Los Angeles 4 years ago. I work in the film industry and now have a stable job with a production company I love. I manage productions with tens of crews, run a camp of 100+ people at Burning Man, helped launched a couple nightclubs in France in the past, so overall I would say I'm pretty good at managing people, networking and making friends. Having worked in music, events and film, I would say I'm pretty creative and have good taste (that's the positive side of my upbringing). I also happen to love numbers and make sense of the world that way. They love having me around in my company when it's time to reconcile budgets after a big shoot, numbers and receipts scattered everywhere. My analytical mind comes in pretty handy in these chaotic moments and I'm always able to catch things that others missed.

I feel like I have made great use of the slow year in 2020 by reading a lot about real estate, making adjustments to my personal financial situation and started to save some money in the process. 2021 seems like it will remain pretty quiet in the film industry, so I would like to use this time to start applying what I have learned and make a move in the world of real estate. 

The only problem is that I live in Los Angeles and the market here is absolutely ludicrous. There's no way for me to buy anything right now, even the smallest ****** property in the ghetto is $600k+, which is way above my pay grade. Many markets across the United States seem to be more accessible, but because I can't really work remotely, I wouldn't be able to be on the grounds, check out the neighborhoods, talk to agents and make an educated decision.

Which brings us to my question. How do I get started in real estate while living in Los Angeles and not being able to afford a property here ?

Even though I don't have much experience, I learn rather quickly, so I was thinking maybe in the beginning I could offer to help a local real estate investor in my free-time (evenings and weekends), doing some research, analyzing deals, making calls, helping proof-read emails or contracts, etc. ?

What do you guys think ? Any feedback and ideas are welcome.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my little story.

Have a great start of your week !
Martin

[Luis Cruz]

Hey @Martin D.

I'm also based in Los Angeles and you're right in that it's a very high-priced market. 

Have you considered house hacking and using rent by the room strategy? This would enable you to access an owner-occupied loan with a lower down payment. You could then rent out the rooms of the property (condo or SFR), though it's unlikely you'd be cash flowing, you'd be saving money on rent while also building equity in the property through loan paydown & appreciation.

Craig Curelop wrote a great book on it called the The House Hacking Strategy (BP podcast episode 252, 350), in which LA's very own @Rick Albert has a case study in it too.

Out of state investing is also an option for you, and I'd suggest reading David Greene's "Long Distance Real Estate Investing" as a starting point, though it would make sense to eliminate your largest expense, rent, to help you increase your saving potential. You can also access your built-up equity in the form of the HELOC to help fund OOS, which is something a lot of investors do.

Always happy to connect, hope this helps!