All Forum Posts by: Nadine O.

Quote from @JD Martin:

I have to laugh at everyone who thinks where they live is the best place to move and invest - of course we would think that, if we were local investors (or had a stake in the outcome as realtors, lenders, etc).

I would suggest this: you may want to visit some/all of these places before you pick one and move there. I've lived in 8 different states and there's a lot of differences out there. The Bay area isn't super expensive by accident - people love living there, for a reason. Climate and culture are both major drivers of where people decide to live. Employment opportunity is high on the list as well, though with remote work it's a little lower than it used to be. If you move to Ohio from SF you are going to be in for a serious shock to the system, culture-wise and weather-wise. I grew up 12 miles from downtown Manhattan, and when I lived in Ohio I might as well have lived on the moon, or Mars. It was freezing cold and a cultural wasteland. Were there redeeming parts to it? Of course - I thought there was a lot of natural beauty. But I was ill-prepared for how cold it got, and how far you could actually live from a decent restaurant. Other people found that way of living was right up their alley. 

This, right here.  I spent my whole life in Los Angeles.  I started investing in Chattanooga in 2009 and moved here from LA three years later.  I happen to love it because it's so different.  In many respects, it's worlds better than LA and in some, it's not, or even worse.  The point is investing in a market is one thing.  Living in that same market is entirely different. In our case, we were wanting to get out of CA for years prior to actually moving here, but even then we took multiple trips to TN and spent real time here to see if it was something we liked.  

Find value where you are at or a place close by. Perfect your processes and then branch out from there! It is not about finding the perfect place...its about finding value and you can find that just about anywhere!

Quote from @Nadine O.:

Hi BP Family! Where would you recommend living in USA to start house hacking and building a rental property business? The intent is to relocate from a high cost of living area like the Bay Area in California (although we love it here) to another, lower cost of living city where we can start by purchasing a multi-family to house hack (we are newbies, but have read a lot) and eventually build a portfolio of rental properties to retire off of. Would love to hear your thoughts - thank you!

Hello Nadine,
I live in the Bay Area but have always invested outside of the Bay Area.  I created a Word Cloud and graphs of the cities I would invest in. These cities have appreciated in value over 200% over 10 years and have had more years of year over year median sale price appreciation of greater than 10% and any other cities in the United States. The larger the fonts in the Word Cloud the better the history of appreciation. One graph shows a few cities that have shown tremendous appreciation which are priced under the National Median Housing Price Average. Still great bargains and good cashflow.  You may want to research one of these.  The other graph shows a few cities that have also shown tremendous appreciation but are priced over the National Median Housing Price Average.

KC, short flight if you get direct and central time makes keeping in contact with both coasts easier. Yea it's only one hour difference then east coast, but you'd be surprised when that's helpful. KC also has a strong and diverse economy with good jobs which can be important if you're making a permant move.

But here's the thing, CA property would give you better chance of some meaningful equity from a funds standpoint. Doesn't need to go up much % wise to have a HELOC that would be a good tool for an out of state property. Midwest property might get you a bit more % wise, but the lower price points just mean less funds to deploy because no one is paid in percentage points.

I'm local to you, rented for a long time because it was better from a price standpoint then buying. I took the down payment money and bought a rental in KC that helped offset my living expenses...then a cash out refi to scale up...was slow but I don't chase doors I went for higher return vs door count.

Now it's coming full circle, using a HELOC on primary that I was lucky enough to get before COVID...which in theory would lead to me being able to improve my first rental and get another HELOC and then use that to improve the others and you guessed it another HELOC ...to then pay down the primary.

Happy to chat more if you'd like.

@Account Closed Retirement locations for sure. A few wealthy millennials? Maybe. 

I had friends that bought a house in Lakeland, FL about 4 years ago. They lived there for two years, got bored, and moved to Colorado. In my opinion the only location on your list that looks tempting is Boise, ID. The other locations feel like vacation, retirement, or STR markets in my opinion.

I have to laugh at everyone who thinks where they live is the best place to move and invest - of course we would think that, if we were local investors (or had a stake in the outcome as realtors, lenders, etc).

I would suggest this: you may want to visit some/all of these places before you pick one and move there. I've lived in 8 different states and there's a lot of differences out there. The Bay area isn't super expensive by accident - people love living there, for a reason. Climate and culture are both major drivers of where people decide to live. Employment opportunity is high on the list as well, though with remote work it's a little lower than it used to be. If you move to Ohio from SF you are going to be in for a serious shock to the system, culture-wise and weather-wise. I grew up 12 miles from downtown Manhattan, and when I lived in Ohio I might as well have lived on the moon, or Mars. It was freezing cold and a cultural wasteland. Were there redeeming parts to it? Of course - I thought there was a lot of natural beauty. But I was ill-prepared for how cold it got, and how far you could actually live from a decent restaurant. Other people found that way of living was right up their alley. 

I personally think the southeast is the place to be (the states between NC and TX which are very hot markets). GA, FL, AR are all places you can get in at a good price point. Another thing to consider: landlord friendly states. These states tend to be more landlord friendly which is helpful if you want an easier investment path. 

One thing to consider: the change in your daily life is going to be quite drastic between the Bay Area and some of the cities you're considering in the midwest. You probably want access to certain things (shops, airports, cultural activities) so your best bet would be to try to live somewhere that's a medium sized city and not a smaller city so it doesn't shock your system and the way you live your day to day. 

Quote from @Nadine O.:

Hi BP Family! Where would you recommend living in USA to start house hacking and building a rental property business? The intent is to relocate from a high cost of living area like the Bay Area in California (although we love it here) to another, lower cost of living city where we can start by purchasing a multi-family to house hack (we are newbies, but have read a lot) and eventually build a portfolio of rental properties to retire off of. Would love to hear your thoughts - thank you!

Do you already own here in Concord? If so, refi, take some money out and start buying in cashflowing areas of the country and/or buy into a syndication.

Quote from @Nadine O.:

Hi BP Family! Where would you recommend living in USA to start house hacking and building a rental property business? The intent is to relocate from a high cost of living area like the Bay Area in California (although we love it here) to another, lower cost of living city where we can start by purchasing a multi-family to house hack (we are newbies, but have read a lot) and eventually build a portfolio of rental properties to retire off of. Would love to hear your thoughts - thank you!

 I have been able to help a lot of California investors buy properties here in Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland. Because of all the corporations and companies being here like Amazon, The Limited, Intel, and more. The market has been exploding. The price to rent ratio makes for great investments. Not to mention our appreciation has been 8% higher then the US national average, because of the high demand for affordable housing.

My first BRRRRR was $300k, put $50k into it, refinanced, and got $90k back. I just refinanced again and got another $50k and it still cash flows $1800/month. Second BRRRRR cost $160k, put $55k into it, refinanced, and got me just under $200k back and cash flows $2000/month. Currently working on my 5rd BRRRR in the city!

Hi @Nadine O., 

I live in Europe, so I'm not sure how helpful my advice will be. However, some general advice I could give you is to research and identify some cities that you are interested in. Since you plan to go live there, before you make the final decision, you might want to go spend some time there and see which of those cities you will feel comfortable living in yourself, how are the locals, do you see yourself becoming part of the community there, etc. 

There won't be 1 perfect city where all the money is. There will be multiple and each of them come with ups and downs. So better make sure that you will be happy living there as well. 

I hope this was helpful!