All Forum Posts by: Mary Griffin

@Joey Mcnaughton

Thanks! Where are you currently investing? Any Bay Area “hot” spots you’d suggest I focus on?

@Daniel Akerman

Thanks! While the prices are high in the Bay Area, house hacking is attractive to me because I’m currently paying $3000+ /month for rent. For now it makes sense for me to focus on the Bay Area market while starting out so I can establish myself here before moving to other markets. Otherwise, all of my profits from investments in other markets will be going towards my rent in California :)

@Kenneth Mooney

thanks for the suggestions. I’ll keep those in mind as I look to branch outside of California in the future.

@Annie Dickerson

Great! Thank you! I’m researching different areas in the Bay Area for my initial investment. What are your thoughts on investing in a multi-unit (2-4 units) in the following areas:

•Oakland (likely east Oakland)

• Emeryville

• Walnut Creek

• Concord

• Richmond

• San Leandro

•Hayward

•Albany

•El Cerrito

I’d like to stay under $1M and not too far from a bart station. From your experience, do you think that’s doable? Are these areas good investment areas? Any areas you think I shouldn’t focus on, or areas I should add to the list?

I’ve been looking at Redfin and Zillow and I see some properties that make the above criteria, but I’m also wondering if there’s another site I should be looking at.

Any insight is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

@Twana Rasoul thanks for the insight and the heads up on the self-sufficiency tests. Do those tests tend to apply to conventional loans too? My understanding of FHA loans, while they offer many perks, have some drawbacks. Am I correct in understanding that FHA loans require that the property be in an "underserved" neighborhood if you make more than a certain amount of money?

@Kenneth Mooney the cost of entry is very high in the Bay Area but I’m pretty set on purchasing here because my job is located here. With the cost of rent continuing to rise, I figure now’s the time to buy. I’m open to your thoughts/suggestions on other markets too, as I’ll be looking to expand to other regions in the near future.

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I currently live in the Bay Area (California) and I’m interested in getting into real estate investment. My goal is to start out buying a multi-unit property in early 2021. Ideally, it’d be somewhere in the east bay since I work in San Francisco and plan to live in one of the units for a few years. I’ve lived in the Bay Area (Berkeley, Sunnyvale, and currently live in Walnut Creek) for the last 11 years. 

 Right now I’m listening to the BiggerPockets podcast and Brandon Turner’s Book on Rental Property Investing. I plan to spend the next several months learning as much as I can about real estate investing. I’m hoping to connect with investors in the Bay Area. I’m open to advice on what things I should be doing now, cities are good investment areas, etc. 

I look forward to connecting!