New from Portland, Oregon, looking to invest in other markets

[Jason Tinder]

Hey everyone, I'm new to the site and getting serious about making my first move in real estate soon. I've done the saving and am ready to make move soon. I know a lot of people say it's best to invest in your backyard, but Portland seems like a tough market to find cash-flowing properties. My goal is to invest for the long-term, and I'd like to start with multi-family properties, if possible. I'm 31 now, and I want to set up a nice passive income for my retirement.

Since my goal is to buy and hold, and since my research so far tells me its tough to start in my market, I'll probably be looking into other markets. I know that's a risky thing to do, since I can't drive by and see the property, but investing locally with a lower return is also pretty risky, I figure. My thought is that I would likely take on less risk by investing in a market where returns are higher than by investing in my own market where returns are lower. I'm going to have to learn a bit about how to utilize technology and network with others to minimize the distance risk.

I'll be interested in finding other people that have pursued this kind of strategy and have been successful.

[Mehran K.]

Welcome to BiggerPockets Jason Tinder.

I feel you're making a great decision to buy properties out of state; I do the same. I live in Los Angeles and the numbers just don't make sense here for cash flow to me.

Some technologies/resources I use when evaluating some property are City-Data, Trulia, Zillow, Google Street View (to drive the town), City Tax Assessors web site, Realquest, Angie's List (a must!), BP members in the area, Local RE agents and property managers, home inspectors.

One book that will really help you do your market research and due diligence is: "Buy It, Rent It, Profit!: Make Money as a Landlord in ANY Real Estate Market" by Bryan Chavis.

Hope this put's you in the right direction. Feel free to PM/connect with me if you have any questions. Glad to have you join our ranks!