Hello BP Community,
I'm not exactly new to BP but haven't been very involved in the past. I recently upgraded to being a Pro Member because my wife and I have finally made the decision and commitment to becoming real estate investors. We both have great W2 jobs (L&D nurse and firefighter) and we are expecting our first child this December. I have about 20 yrs until retirement and my wife has about 25 yrs. We are not looking for a get-rich-quick scenario but rather using RE to help supplement retirement, eventually adding to our monthly income, and creating generational wealth for our kids. We live in Sonoma County which is about 45 min north of San Francisco. We'd love to invest in our backyard but we feel the Bay Area is so expensive, which creates more risk for our first property. Plus, this area is far from being landlord-friendly. Our goal is to have our first property purchased within the next 6 months.
We are in the infancy stages of becoming RE investors, still trying to decide our market and strategy. I've been educating myself by listening to the BP podcast for some time, have read Rental Property Investing and Real Estate Rookie by Brandon Turner and Ashely Kehr, and currently reading BRRRR by David Greene. It's all amazing information and I've learned a ton but it's all very overwhelming.
We are starting to do research for out-of-state investing using either an FHA loan, Turnkey, or using the BRRRR method (still need to finish reading the book). We are looking to buy and hold our first investment as an SFR or MFR and rent it as an MTR or LTR or both. Currently, we are looking at Reno, Nv and Memphis, Tn. Reno because we know the area, it's potentially a place we'd eventually want to retire to using one of our investment properties, and market projections are appealing. Memphis because my wife is from there and my mother-in-law was a realtor there for 20 years and has a lot of connections still in the area. Plus we still have family in the area that can help with management and emergencies.
I know that was a long-winded way of introducing myself and providing a general plan for our approach to becoming RE investors. I guess I'm asking the BP community for any advice, guidance, or direction on how to organize all the information I read in these books and hear in the podcasts to narrow down our strategy even more. Also, if anyone have opinions or experience in either of these markets? And what approach to financing we should take.
I thank everyone in advance and appreciate any insight you can provide. I'm very excited to be part of this community and learn from everyone. And lastly, if anyone is in the Bay Area that would like to meet up please reach out.
Best,
Scott