Narrow down on potential cities that you preferer (LA County,CA)

[Jacob Garcia]

Hello, Bigger pocket members.

I'm currently looking for my first multifamily investment property in or near LA county in California.

There is a vast amount of places to invest and wanted to start narrowing down on some hot counties/cities near LA county to start running the numbers on and do my first real estate investment.

The expected outcome of the post

• *Narrow down on potential cities that you preferer and recommend to a starter investor like myself.
• *Potential multi-family home 2 - 4 units but very open to recommendations of what has worked for you in the past.
• *Build my network of more experienced individuals.
• *Eager to also help you in some way shape or form why searching and learning for my investment property

A little background about myself. Finished reading the Bigger pockets book "The Multifamily Millionaire" with four friends and myself. We want to reach the point of financial independence and be able to build generational wealth. We believe that real estate is the door that will take us there.

[Marshall Leipprandt]

@Jacob Garcia Congratulations on taking the time to educate yourself and looking to get started. I 100% agree with you and your friends that real estate is the most attainable way to achieve financial independence and generational wealth and I commend you for your passion.

I'm an agent and investor also located in Los Angeles County. With the rise of single family home prices, multifamily properties have been getting more and more competitive as the notion of having 2-3 other units in a property to supplement ones housing income has become increasingly enticing for. Couple that with attractive owner-occupied financing options and the market for multis has become hot. I personally have been looking in the South Bay area of Los Angeles but occasionally look in Long Beach, West Hollywood, and Studio City. Inventory for multifamily homes is low in pretty much all of these areas. Each area has its pros and cons, but in Los Angeles you'll always have to stay educated on things like localized rental regulations, eviction moratoriums, rent control, etc.

LA has so many pockets and neighborhoods that I think you probably should narrow down what your primary strategy is before spending time looking in different areas across the city. Answering some of these questions will help:

-Do you (or you and your friends if you are partnering) plan to occupy the property at all?

-Are you looking more for long-term appreciation or immediate cash flow? 

-If not living in the property, would you prefer being within a certain driving time from the property to be able to keep an eye on it?

-What is your group's general price point? 

Answering some or all of those questions will help narrow the general areas where there may be opportunities for you.