All Forum Posts by: Sarah Karakaian

@Jeffrey Hlister  - Thank you for the feedback! Those are certainly things to consider when making this decision!

Hello Brilliant BP Community!

My husband and I sold our NYC property for a premium and will be taking our profits to start investing in buy and holds.

Technically we are homeless right now. ;) We don't have kids. We have extensive renovation know-how and professional design experience. We also don't have our heart set on living anywhere in particular.

We've got a few leads to great deals---some in Cleveland, OH and Birmingham, AL, to name a couple. Our idea is, instead of *living* in the spaces we buy and fix-up in preparation to rent we head to our Fifth Wheel at the end of our work day so we have a nice clean place to call home PLUS, as soon as we're done with the home, we can just pack up our pick-up truck and our fifth wheel and head to the next deal, whether it's in a neighboring city or a few states away.

My biggest question is: Anyone have any experience with living in an RV or Fifth Wheel as a way to cut living costs? Are they easy to rent out or resell out should we find a permanent home along the way in a year or two? Should we just grin and bear it and live IN our renovations?

Thanks for any input!

My husband and I are just starting out as real estate investors. Our immediate circle of friends know how serious we are about doing this full time - so, a few, who have capital, have reached out to us expressing interest in partnering up should an opportunity present itself. I should also say that we ran a very successful construction and design company in NYC. We were also featured on 8 episodes of an HGTV show.

One couple in particular still live in NYC but are from Indy. They aren't sure if they want to invest in Indy from just an investment standpoint OR if they'd want to live in the property eventually. Is there any known partnership in place where investors could partner up with another party who, in the end, would like to own the property outright? We're thinking we just charge them for being the "boots on the ground" but in the end, it's not much different than being the GC. Perhaps it's not worth it for us if our end game is building our portfolio? 

Does this make sense? Is there a win-win scenario here that we're not seeing? Any help would be greatly apprecaited. Since we're new, we don't want to put our noses up when someone approches us about joining forces.

Thanks for any feedback. 

@Adolfo Cuellar Thank you for your insight! We're hoping there is room for us in Portland's city limits - we promise to add to the quality of life there and help elevate the community through affordable design and, someday, affordable housing!

@Steve Moody Good question. My sister and I are very close. She used to live in Philly so we were always a short bus/train ride away. She now lives in Seattle. With Seattle's market as crazy as NYC's, we looked to the next most affordable location - Portland. While Portland's prices are about half that of NYC it is, indeed, quite expensive. We're thinking about doing just what you suggested - buying a duplex and living in it while we fix it up. I see us investing in more rental properties in Portland's submarkets. We'd be happy to be the hands on 'flippers' to more experienced investors while we learn - we're incredibly handy and have a keen eye for design. And the PNW has some of the most beautiful houses in need of a face lift. ;)

@Neal Collins Thank you for the kind message! We will absolutely keep you in mind for a rental as we want to become more comfortable with the geography before we plant roots. 

 The ice is insane on these roads! We've seen several cars spin out. Although, I will say, we've felt quite at home with all this snow!

@Bob B. we head out early tomorrow morning, but we'll be sure to check it out next time we're here! Thank you!

I posted on here a bit ago - we have an NYC property that we just accepted an offer on. We plan on taking the cash and moving to the Portland, Oregon area to make that money grow and help us get started in our investing career. 

Everyone's advice is always to simply "Get Started". So...we are! We're currently in Portland learning about the area and the submarkets. What an eye opener. Inventory is low - we obviously don't know the area well - and, because of our career in house rehabilitation and design - we can't bring ourselves to looking at cookie cutter properties.

Our trip has been great in giving us a dose of reality. We also visited the Olympia, WA and Salem, OR areas - we just don't know where to plant roots. We're thinking about renting for awhile while we network and get to know the area better.

We should close on our NYC by March 1 so we can make the move pretty soon thereafter. Anyone who might have a path similar to ours - moving to a market they don't know but excited to hit the ground running? Did it work out for you? Are we crazy? Any advice on what might be a good place for some 30-somethings with no kids to settle down in the PNW?

Vert excited to attend with my partner and husband. We'll be 'those' newbies with all the questions!