All Forum Posts by: Brynn H.

Thanks everyone for the insight, it has already helped me out a lot with figuring out ways forward. 

I am single without kids, though I do have a dog. I am not looking for roommates though, and would be fine with a smaller place because of this. 1bdr/1ba isn't even out of the question, particularly if it hits all the other key areas. Multifamily would be ideal honestly, I just need to figure out if the rents would even help me cover the costs.

Regardless of my personal situation, I guess the real question is: is the SoCal market too inflated right now to find a good deal? I will have to move again in 3-6 years. If I purchase now, will the value depreciate over the next 5 years too much for me to sell and recuperate my purchase? Alternatively, if I wanted to rent after I move, will I not be able to cover my mortgage with rent?

I know I'm asking to look in a crystal ball, and am asking the question we all want to know. But I would love to get started in REI and would love advice as to whether or not this location and time is good for it.

Thanks again all! 

Hey all,  the question is, should I purchase in the current SoCal market, or rent in the meantime, save money, and purchase when it becomes less expensive to purchase a property? The trick is, I need to live there in the meantime too.

Background: I am an officer in the Marine Corps, I'm moving back to Camp Pendleton soon and was looking to purchase a property near Camp Pendleton but was disappointed when I saw all the recent prices. I don't have a lot to use as a down payment, but can use the VA Home Loan so that isn't much of an issue. I wanted to buy a place that I could hold onto for the next couple of years, leverage against to spring into further investment properties, and eventually rent out when I move on. My problem is the current market.

I am looking to purchase around Carlsbad, Oceanside, Encinitas, or San Clemente and Dana Point. I can afford a mortgage/property costs around $3k/month. Help please and thank you!

Thanks y’all for the continuous feedback! James Letchford Lindsey Iskierka it’s awesome to know that other military members in this area are doing REI successfully. James, I genuinely laughed out loud when I read your comment. Although Brynn is a gender neutral name I am the husband in my marriage haha. Lindsey, I have been looking into the house hack technique with the idea of using my VA loan. I am still getting familiar with the “rules” of property valuation, most of the multi family homes in the area are understandably expensive, what would be generally competitive prices for a triplex in the Long Beach, Dana point area?

Logan, that’s really good info, I appreciate the innovative way to look at the SoCal market. I’m definitely willing to look into multi-family units that I can live in and rent out simultaneously. Thanks man!

James Wise Thanks, it’s good to be here.

Mike M. Thanks for the welcome and the info. I guess I can use this to explain what plan I have formed based off the research I have done. I know in the long run i.e. 5-10 years I want to have transitioned into the buy and hold strategy in order to provide more passive income. However in the short term I am looking into fix and flip properties in the Southern California area. Specifically San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Dana Point, Mission Viejo, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel; basically everything north of Camp Pendleton up to Irvine. The tricky part is being a new investor with not a lot of cash in an area where the property is very expensive, finding anything under 400k is usually pretty surprising. I am currently looking into some military specific loans to see what I can be approved for and how that will dictate my budget. Thanks again, looking forward to additional insights. -Brynn

Hi y’all, I am just saying hello and thanks for having me here. A little about myself, I attended Texas A&M University, class of 2014, Whoop! So Howdy to any fellow Aggies on the forum. I am currently a Marine Corps Officer with 5th Marine Regiment based in Camp Pendleton, Ca. My wife and I live in San Clemente where we are hoping to start our first real estate investments. We are very new to real estate and are definitely in the educational phase. Our venture into real estate honestly probably all started with the iconic “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” which led to other books, which led to google questions about real estate, which quickly brought me to BP. I am now a devout listener to the BP podcasts and have only recently created a profile and started looking at the forums. My wife and I are looking for more financial freedom so we can travel more and are looking very seriously at real estate to provide that for us. Currently I am interested in using rental properties (single or multi-family) to be the vehicle for that travel, but since we have little in the form of a cash cushion I am eager to learn more about other strategies. I look forward to interacting with y’all and if anyone is in Southern California and wants to meet up (be it fellow newbies trying to figure things out, or experienced real estate titans ready to pass on their knowledge) my wife and I would love it! Thanks again for taking the time to put together BP, it is the best tool for real estate I have found so far.