Newbie from Orange County, CA

Accountant · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 980 votes

I am a young person debating between putting a down payment on his first personal residence vs. using that money to get into rental properties. Hoping that some people on this site can give some guidance on what a forward-thinking young person interested in real estate should do with a bit of cash.

I am also a CPA specializing in our firm's real estate practice.

Clarita CPA Group516 Reviews

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Jon HuberPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Boca Raton, FL · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 713 votes
11y
@Logan Allec
Welcome to the community! Your number crunching abilities will pay off in the world of REI. But now that you're here... get active... ask questions, read blogs, and I always suggest a podcast marathon. Good luck!
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Joe HomsBusiness Member
Flipper · Mission Viejo, CA · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
11y
Logan Allec Welcome to the BP community. My vote would be to purchase a principal residence. There is a monthly Orange County Meet-up every month in Lake Forest. Stop by and say hi.
[email protected]949-625-4533
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Tara Hall
Involved In Real Estate · Denver, CO · Member since 2013 · 82 posts · 22 votes
11y
Welcome @Logan Allec ! OC used to be my old stomping grounds, definitely a pricey place to start. It sounds like you have a great start with your CPA background though. BP is a great resource & definitely hit up the local meetups.
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Dmitriy Fomichenko
Solo 401k Expert · Anaheim Hills, CA · Member since 2012 · 18k+ posts · 6k+ votes
11y
Welcome to BP community @Logan Allec It is a great place to meet new friends and learn about various aspects of real estate and more. Here are a few recommendations for you:
Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area: http://www.biggerpockets.com/meet
Set up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alerts
Wishing you the best!
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Paul Timmins
Specialist · Rockland, MA · Member since 2010 · 7k+ posts · 2k+ votes
11y
@Logan Allec
Welcome. Time to build the foundation below.
Check out the Start Here page http://www.biggerpockets.com/starthere
Check out BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide - A fantastic free book that walks through many of the key topics of real estate investing.
Check out the free BiggerPockets Podcast - A weekly podcast with interviews and a ton of great advice. And you get the benefit of having over 90 past ones to catch up on.
Two Great reads, I bought both J. Scott The Book on Flipping Houses,The Book on Estimating ReHab Costshttp://www.biggerpockets.com/flippingbook
Locate and attend 3 different local REIA club meetings great place to meet people gather resources and info. Here you will meet wholesalers who provide deals and all the cash buyers (rehabbers) you will need.
Consider checking out HUD homes for small multi's owner occupied gets first crack.
You might consider Niche or Specialized Housing like student housing. Rents can be 2-4 times more. Remember you don't have to own a property to control it.
Download BP’s newest book here some good due diligence in Chapter 10. Real Estate Rewind Starting over
http://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/brandonatbp/file/real-estate-rewind-a-biggerpockets-community-book
Good luck
Paul
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Carlos O.
Investor · Huntington beach, CA · Member since 2014 · 99 posts · 17 votes
11y
@Logan Allec
Welcome to BP Logan. I'm a newbie myself, still searching for my first deal. BP is a great place, make sure to ask lots of questions and search the site.
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Elizabeth Colegrove
Hanford, CA · Member since 2013 · 5k+ posts · 1k+ votes
11y
Welcome to Biggerpockets!
We put down as little as possible on our first property. It was a foreclosure, we funded the repair cost out of our paychecks by living frugally. 5 months after we bought our house we bought our first investment. We haven't look back since. We are young and are okay with "good" debt. So we leverage as much as possible. At the same time we try to have as much instant value as possible so we buy predominately short laces although one foreclosure.
Another great place is to look around the blogs, forums and listen to the podcasts. If you see a post you enjoy check out the persons signature. Many of us including myself talk about our strategies, styles, niches and business model on our website. So definitely check that out as it is an amazing additional resource. For example, my blog is about while working full time, buy and hold investing, 0% Down Rentals, Personal Properties turned rentals, Long distancing investing, self-managing 3,000+ miles away. Definitely list your blog or website in your signature, if you have one. Its a great additional networking source.
Look forward to seeing you around! Let me know if I can help!
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Ali Boone
Real Estate Coach · Venice Beach, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
11y
Real estate all the way! I'm a huge advocate of the idea that buying your own house is rarely a good investment. Plus, your own house won't put cash in your pocket every month like investment properties can.
Just my two cents.
I'm just north of you in LA (Venice).
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Brandon TurnerPro Member
Investor · Maui, HI · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 3k+ votes
11y
Hey @Logan Allec welcome to the site! Definitely start jumping into the community here! Be sure to read through The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Real Estate Investing to help you get started.
Also -be sure to setup some keyword alerts - especially for "Tustin" so you can jump into local conversations.
See you around the forums!
Podcast Guest on Show #92
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Jared Baumer
Laguna Hills, CA · Member since 2017 · 21 posts · 11 votes
7y
@Joe Homs I know your post in this thread is years old but is that meet up in Lake Forest still active? Do you know of any other local meet ups in the Orange County area?
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Joe HomsBusiness Member
Flipper · Mission Viejo, CA · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
@Jared Baumer yes to all your questions.
[email protected]949-625-4533
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