All Forum Posts by: Sino U.

House Hacking locally in a state that literally has one of the worst reputations for landlords is how my wife and I got to financial freedom.  I live in New Jersey and invest in New Jersey. When first starting out we almost pulled the trigger with out of state investing, looking back and running the numbers of what it could have been compared to what it is today no way we would be anywhere near what we have right now had we decided to invest out of state.  House hacking in the market you live in is such an unfair advantage that compounds in ways you will not believe. 

Who would have ever thought that the midwest would be such a "hot market". How times have changed. 

@Sino U., don't worry about others enthusiasm, only about your own. Realtors work for you. Have a plan and leverage them towards your goal. They're not going to do it for you, no one will. You have to apply pressure when necessary to keep the ball rolling. There's LOTS of wanna be investors who start down the road, make a lot calls and take no action. If you want it to happen, YOU have to make it happen. 

Good luck with your journey.

Cheres,

Find a Realtor who doesn't care about bashing a market. The enthusiasm part is so true. Realtors tend to lean into peoples ideas even if they arent good. 

For example, I am not a fan of the center city market right now because it is tough to sell/rent on the back end (and most realtors know this), but as soon as you mention something like: "Yeah i've been thinking about point breeze", they will immediately turn their gears and say something like: oh yeah, that's a very up and coming area. 

Lol I feel you man. I always tell my clients exactly whats going on and if any area is struggling or booming. but maybe I'm just one of those Realtors too hahah. 

So to test this to see how the realtor reacts, you can study about neighborhoods, and focus on an A neighborhood and D neighborhood (you can generally find this online). Be enthusiastic about the D neighborhood, and not so enthusiastic about the A neighborhood and see how they react. Are they just rolling with you, or are they setting the market straight for you?

But like others have said, invest in your market first to learn first hand!

@Sino U. why not invest in your area?  Get your feet wet and learn at home.  Invest out of state for #2 property. . .

@Sino U.  FYI - Philly and PA are not the same when it comes to L-T regulations. Philly has its own unique regulations that make it one of the most tenant friendly markets I know of. If you understand the laws, know how to be landlord from A to Z, and work in decent markets, you will be fine. If you enter it naively without fully understanding the business and the requirements, you can get hurt badly. I run the Philadelphia Landlords Connect group on FB, and we have constant discussions between seasoned landlords and newbies that got caught with their pants down. So do not get into it without learning what you need to know -- it is not an intuitive business. Suburbs are easier -- but each locale will have its own requirements and quirks. And multifamily as opposed to SF will always have the additional challenges of playing foster parent to tenants - managing conflicts, etc.   

 Hi Sino, 

Great questions to being with. You are asking the right questions. First I would recommend read as many books as you can. Investors summarize their whole life in 200-300 pages. This is how I got my start. 

Out of state investments are going to be key to building generational wealth and cashflow. States like NY, NJ, Cali, FL, NV are not idea for in-state investments anymore. The midwest has become a popular hub for investors to build wealth in today's time. 

I would like into Ohio. Columbus has seen major growth over the last few years. Major tech companies like Intel, Amazon, Google, and smaller startups are taking place there. 

Buy in turning areas with economic bases. 

Good luck!