All Forum Posts by: Rahul Handa

Dallas has some of the best schools in the country and some of the worst.   That does not seem to keep people from buying and renting in Dallas.   One nice thing is DISD has open enrollment which means if there is space you can pick any school even if you are not in the zone.  There are hot spots in Dallas....and some places probably keen for gentrification.   We also have great charter schools in many areas....and those seem to be gaining some real traction.   West/South Dallas are great examples.

Talk about jumping out of the skillet and into the frying pan...kind of lol. I grew up in Illinois (Peoria) so I know exactly what youre talking about. I left and am 99% sure I will not be moving back, even though the vast majority of my family still lives there. Beside it being a killer for my 8-5 job the taxes there just make everything worse and its only going to get even more worse. So I don't blame you for leaving...but why move to Cali? lol you are moving from one tax crazy state to another. 

I'm only talking about taxes & government regulations here, just to be clear, I'm not talking about the everything else that makes a state good or not. 

The biggest difference between Cali & Illinois REI is the price point. Chicago will give you a good taste of the prices but even those numbers are low to what Cali has. There are a lot of areas outside of Chicago that, if the taxes were at least somewhat normal, it would be similar to pretty much every other state in the Midwest. Cali has some ares like this, with more normal looking house prices, but they are not near any big city or population. But, just like Illinois, taxes are based state wide, regardless of the local markets and prices. So returns get minimized in the outer areas because the prices REI need to be worth it don't make much sense.

If I had to live in either of those states I would set my focus on out of state REI until I could make the capital to support an investment in Cali. Or until I made the right connections to local REI that know more about the very localized markets and areas. 

@Rahul Handa California isn’t all expensive. Get out of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego and the price points are pretty comparable to other parts of the country. If you’re in Sacramento the Central Valley cities are close to you. Modesto, Fresno, and Stockton would probably be your best bet for cashflow.

@Rahul Handa Turn around!

I replied earlier in a hurry and before reading others’ comments. One piece of advice, don’t listen to the people that don’t live/invest here or some other high priced, appreciation market. The guys chasing 150 bucks a door in the south love to tell you how bad of an investment it is. It’s a different ball game here.

Find me some long term, buy and hold CA investors and see how many of them regret it....ZERO

Long term buy and hold- expect negative cash flow in the short term. Lucky to break even. Obviously there are exceptions. Rents will go up eventually, appreciation will most likely happen, your mortgage will be paid down by the renters. You gotta look at these buy and holds 15-20 years down the road. Not next month like the mid west and the south.

Flips- great money can be made. Just make sure you can do them quickly and buy them at the right price. A slight market shift could kill your margins.

Competition is high. People are willing to pay market price pretty much all day long as long as it’s even close to worth it.

Good luck. Sacramento area is actually probably one of the better parts of the states to be purchasing at the moment. If you can pick up a few properties and hold on for the long haul you’ll be sitting pretty in 20+ years.

@Rahul Handa you'll be good man! Most people in Cali that atr motivated tend to "Play up" to the challenge.

Don't forget you still have the out-of-state angel. You also have places like Redding and Fresno that are a few hours drive away that should have a less expensive barrier of entry.

Have you heard of David Greene?look him up

You have picked the worst 2 states to invest in the country !  Lowlife freebee states  run by ; you be the judge of that .......

@Rahul Handa ca is 1.25%