All Forum Posts by: Vanessa Vandervalk

I was (am) in the exact same position and was very torn about whether to put my 80k of cash savings into a home of my own or to buy my first rental property. The decision I made was to buy a small inexpensive condo in Santa Clarita with 20% down and live in it for one year or more. According to current rents and all my research and analysis, it will cash flow when I decide to rent it out. I am only using 50k of my cash, so I can still use the remaining 30k to invest out of state. As far as timing the market, I missed the crash and there's a chance another one will hit LA. But, this property is already inexpensive at $235k and I believe I will be able to hold onto it for the very long term. If you can find a duplex you can afford, I think that is also a great idea. I specifically wanted to be in the SCV where they seem to be scarce. 

Thank you Swanny for responding to so many posts! I've read the whole entire conversation. I am in LA and looking to buy my first investment property soon. Like you, I caught the RE bug and have read several of the books you listed. Since my timing in So Cal is a few years behind yours, I'm exploring out of state cash flow property to start. When the downturn eventually hits here again, I hope to be well prepared to snap up some properties. 

One thing I hadn't yet explored was the cost of cashing in my Roth and traditional IRAs, which are worth $200,000 together. After reading your story, I'm thinking that money is definitely in the wrong place!

My final thought is that you should definitely contact BP about doing a podcast. Your story is very inspiring to us all, and I would eagerly listen to find out what you haven't already shared here! Thanks!!

Can you perhaps market the property as something two families can share, or perhaps rent the rooms out separately to individuals? A lot of young adults like to share a house for a few years. These are some ways you could reduce from total vacancy to partial. Otherwise, I agree with others that the vacancy rate is a killer. Add to that the roof and you are really stretching. Use the Analyzer tool on BP and you'll quickly see your numbers. 

I might be able to make this one. Thanks for organizing, Sebastia.

Condo vs. house (disclaimer: not speaking from experience). I heard one investor/broker say that since houses attract families and condos would attract singles/young couples etc., tenants are less likely to turn over in a house than a condo. Another one of his arguments that houses are a better buy & hold was about the high HOA costs of condos. In my opinion this is tempered by the fact that the HOA will cover a vast majority of capital expenditures on a condo, such as roof, exterior walls, plumbing etc. and also landscaping, whereas in a house you must save for those costs.

Trenton, talk to @Logan Allec who is here on Bigger Pockets to get his thoughts. He recently purchased a fourplex not far from Canyon Country and it's worth learning from his experience!

Speaking for myself as a newbie, the off-market deals I've seen here have been out of my league in terms of price and complexity. I'm happy to tag along as a partner with a more experienced investor if someone else wants to explore this with me. 

Hi Jessica! I'm in a similar position and am educating myself like crazy, too. I am forming my plan as well. I believe if I get my goal and my plan of accomplishing it down on paper with more specifics, it will make it much easier to take action, because it will be much easier to see what actions are going to lead to the goal. Glad to see more local women on Bigger Pockets!

I was planning to attend, but it turns out that I won't be in the area. I hope to meet you all in the near future!

@Logan Allec I would like to talk further--I'm amazed at the price you got for a four plex in that area. I would like to live in Santa Clarita and I did not know there were many properties like that out there.