All Forum Posts by: Elliott Perrigo

Thanks for the responses. To answer a few questions.

Rent is currently around $2500 for a 2br. It's a lot, but probably about $1000 less than the current market rates.

I would love to stay near the beach if at all possible. Not a necessity, but we are only a mile from my wife's work and we go to the beach literally every day and riding bikes on the boardwalk is a huge part of our life. 

For our investment goals, in the short term, we would like to start investing in properties to hold for the long term and then use any cash flow to reinvest. We would like to learn how to be landlords and property owners as we grow our portfolio. In 3-5 years, we would hope to start turning some of the investments into additional cash flow.

I think I am going to see what type of FHA we can qualify for and see if it makes sense. I guess I didn't realize that the FHA loan amount can only be 980k. That probably isn't going to be enough to get into a 4-unit building, but it might be enough to get into a duplex.

My wife and I have been saving for a while and have lived by the beach in LA for a long time. We always thought our plan was to just do the traditional home purchase and save for retirement via 401k, etc. We are both successful and have lived in a rent controlled apartment by the beach for almost 10 years. With Covid, I have had some time to reflect and realized that we need to invest, rather than move to a tiny house in an "up and coming neighborhood" that we barely like for $1.5M. Then, maybe in a few years, we can afford to move somewhere else with passive income, or subsidize our mortgage with passive income,.

I am just really curious if anyone has tried starting their journey in a larger market. The only two markets I know are Seattle and Los Angeles and both are pretty expensive. We have a lot of cash to play with, but without the previous experience, it means risking--but also potentially gaining--a lot more.

I don't have a specific question, but am looking to start a discussion on here or a private conversation with someone who understands the market. As I see it, the options in my comfort zone are 1. buying and rehabbing STRs in Joshua Tree, 2. House Hacking in Santa Monica/Venice (although I am 37) 3. BRRRR in Los Angeles.

My goal is to move to more BRRRR long-term, but I think I have to prove to my wife that real estate investing is working before I can go all-in.