All Forum Posts by: Sam McCormack

Hi!

I am starting out newbie, have young kids, have been a homemaker, but now want to do more for the family financially while also being available for my family. After reading & researching, I have decided to take the real estate route, read 'Rental Property Investing" and came out with the plan to buy single family homes LTR cash flow. I live in California, but being the market it is, I want to invest outside. I have garnered a 50K to get started, I am having difficulty choosing markets, although I have shortlisted it to be a 'landlord friendly state". It looks so wide and vast, I am overwhelmed and don't know where to start. I have been reading the forums out here but how should I narrow down to that one market?

I also tried biggerpockets/wheretostart, but for some reason the .xls would constantly keep opening skype files. What am I doing wrong here?

What should be my next step to narrow down and research?

I am also beginning to talk to CPAs and attorneys, but not sure What all questions I should have cleared at a minimum, to confidently take the big step.

I may be over thinking, but I think it is also the cautious me who does not want to screw up financially in my desire to help the family financially.

Did you miss this in the same forum 10 days ago with 95 replies? It seems weird to post the exact same thing again.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1220392-what-...

I am looking to buy my first investment property, and my goal is to continue building this portfolio every year until I can live off my rental income entirely. I have about $400K to deploy, but would prefer to buy several duplexes rather than 1 more expensive building. I live in CA but am open to investing anywhere that makes financial sense. Cash flow is important of course, but so is appreciation, so I want to ensure I have a balance of both. Is it wise to buy some units with high cash flow and low appreciation, and others with lower cash flow but high appreciation to diversify my portfolio?  

I was looking in Columbus OH but the market is so saturated and it's been difficult for me to find cash-flowing deals there. Any deal that I've found seems to have sold within the last 2 years, and its alarming as to why it's back on market again unless they have problems with the building and/or tenants. I'm open to all suggestions regarding different cities that meet my requirements and would love to chat with some realtors who have local experience working with investors. 

First piece of advice....don't come here and tell people you have $200k to invest.

Second piece of advice, understand what you want before you look. Once you know what you want, you then know how to look. If you're indecisive right now, get some conviction. Once you have conviction, work on your discipline. When you have both, it's very hard to quit and when you find it hard to quit-- it's likely you won't fail. 

Third piece of advice, it's too general for me to say Ohio sucks. But go back to my first piece of advice and see where all the predators will circle.  And do the math. House hacking is a farce for many reasons, also. 

Fourth piece of advice...don't believe people's advice that have something to sell you without fully verifying & doing your diligence.

Really dig in on #2 before you do anything. 

Hello BP community! I am looking to get into out of state investing. I live in San Diego, CA and as you all know, it’s a very high entry point here so looking to get into a long term rental elsewhere. I am looking to use all cash, under 200k, preferably under 180k for a single family or a duplex if viable with my budget. I am a small business owner, business is not doing too well right now so that’s why I’m looking at an all cash buy, so I can get a nice cash flow to supplement. Would like to be in a city where I could get potentially $1,500 to 2k in rent. The list of cities that I’ve come up with so far by my own rookie research is the following, but always open to other suggestions from members that have experience else where. 
Waco, Dallas, El Paso, TX

Indianapolis, IN

Pittsburg, PA

Looking to connect with locals who can help build a boots on the ground team as well. Thank you guys so much for any help here. 

Hello bigger pockets experts, I currently live in california but will list my house for sale within the next couple months i want to use between 100-200k for an investment but not sure how to go about it. My original plan was to find a 4 plex in california buy using fha loan, move out after the first year and generate cash flow and appreciation, but after looking at properties it became clear to me that’s not possible with todays market and interest rates. I now am looking all over the country, thinking of trying to find a duplex that’s has land where i can add more units in the future, or just a small apartment building, honestly I dont know at the moment just wanted some feedback from people who know more than me 

I was thinking of doing Airbnb arbitrage in Cincinnati but discovered that there is a restriction that the STR operator has to live within 50 miles of the property. Anyone has experience with this?

I will hire a local person for emergencies and other stuff but wondering if anyone on this forum had specific details.

Thanks.

These days, a couple of things seem to be affecting how and where college age students are attending classes. The use of online classes has been increasing every year and are projected to continue to increase. Also, more people seem to be choosing trade schools over traditional colleges. I am curious to know what everyone is seeing out there and have some questions:

-How is this affecting in-person attendance?

-Have you seen a change in demand for student rentals?

-Where do you think the student rental sector is headed?

-Are certain student rental markets bullish/neutral/bearish?

Hello BiggerPockets community! I'm Maria J from New Jersey, passionate about real estate investing for a couple months now. I'm particularly passionate about PA, NC and OH.

Outside of real estate, I enjoy trying new restaurants.

Excited to learn and connect with you all!