Where to move/invest?

[Ignacio Perez Losada]

Hello everyone, first time posting, so bare with me!.

My name is Jay and I just discovered this jewel called biggerpockets, what an amazing source of knowledge and resources. I thought I'd introduce myself and share my situation real quick.

I'm 39 y.o, live in Denver (renting a 1b apartment) and work in aviation, which takes me away from home 2 weeks at the time, but allows me to be 2 weeks home at the time. Until now, my salary was not too high, but it jumped into the six figures, and it should keep going up due to experience, new assignments, etc.... so I can't help start thinking about taxes and how to start being smart about my finances.

After doing some research, it seems pretty clear that real state is the way to go. But Denver seems a bit expensive right now.

I would like to buy my first house, but I don't know if I should move to a different state where it'd be easier and mroe affordable?. The initial idea would be to buy a single family, maybe a duplex, and start house hacking, saving a bit more, learning the ropes, and eventually if things work and prices go up, get it refinanced and buy another property with that money?. I'm sure I sound super rookie but I'm learning a ton everyday, there's so much information out there.

Short term goal, live for "free" in order to save and keep investing. Long term goal, create wealth and financial freedom.

Too abstract? lol. In my job, it's all about getting the right heading/speed and altitude, but when it comes to real state, I don't even know where the runway is!.

First I need to decide where to move. Ideas?. I can live literally anywhere, my job takes care of my commute.


Thank you everyone.
Jay P.

[James Carlson]

@Ignacio Perez Losada

I agree with @Tammy Nelson. First, decide where you want to live and then decide on a strategy. I think your first purchase should be your primary residence, but that will require you knowing where you want to live first. If you want to live elsewhere, then do that and buy a home there to house hack. You can definitely find more affordable areas than Denver (though very few as cool as that city). We moved from Denver to Colorado Springs recently and despite our city snobbery, we love the city and it's more affordable than Denver but still with the mountains and Colorado weather.

If you want to stay in Denver, then stay here and house hack to meet your goal of living for free. There are all different ways of doing that. 

• Buy a straight up duplex and long-term rent the other side. 
• Buy a SFH in Denver with a separate basement setup that allows you to LTR or Airbnb the basement. (We see a lot of clients do this like these two, and if I were in your situation this is what I'd do, but that's only because I'm only so fond of other humans and don't want roommates.) A 1br basement apartment in most areas of Denver will pull in a minimum of $2,500/mo, more if you're in a nice area or have a really nice setup)
• Buy a 4br or 5br SFH and rent out the rooms individually. (Here's a good example.) You're likely looking at $750-$800/room in Denver.

Whatever you decide, I wish you luck!