Newbie Investor from San Diego looking in Phoenix Metro Area!

[Jhonathan Bituin]

Hello all!

I was born and raised in San Diego and now work here as a mechanical engineer in the defense industry. Growing up, the concept of "work hard in school, get a degree, and find a well paying job to work at for the rest of your life" was ingrained in me. But after being introduced to investing and real estate, I've learned that there's a much more enjoyable way to live your life if you just work smarter. This past year I've been doing a lot of research into real estate investing (BP books/podcasts/webinars & definitely a whole lot of YouTube) and after watching many BP webinars, I finally decided now is the time to put my money where my mouth is and go Pro! While I'd love to invest locally, this market is a bit out of my price range. After reading David Greene’s book on long distance real estate investing and watching the BP/Mynd YouTube series on helping someone invest OOS,I’ve been more confident that I can find a market that’ll work for me.

I'm currently looking into the Phoenix metro area to buy a SFH (2B/1Ba) as a long term buy and hold rental at the $180-230k range. Hoping to BRRRR it and do about $10k in rehab to force some equity into the property. I know I don't need a home run on my first property, but after analyzing a few deals found on Zillow/Redfin, I'm seeing barely 3-5% ROI's..

I’ve been searching mainly in the Phoenix area (South Mountain, west Phoenix, and Arcadia) but would also like to hear about what you all think on other areas nearby, like Glendale, Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, etc. for finding better deals. My main reason for looking in Phoenix proper was the commute time to downtown, but is that really a big factor in the area? Or do many white collar workers still work out in the outskirts of the city?

Thanks in advanced and as an OOS investor, I'm excited to connect with you all and soon build my "core four"!

Jhonathan Bituin