New to Real Estate Investing – Advice for a SoCal Renter

[Sasank Kuditipudi]

Hi everyone,

I’m based in Southern California and currently renting. I’ve been wanting to get into real estate investing, but I’m not sure where to start in a high-cost market like this. My goal is to build long-term wealth and hopefully move from renting to owning (and maybe investing in additional properties in the future).

For those of you who started out in a similar situation—especially here in SoCal—what would be your top advice? Should I be looking out of state for my first investment, focus on saving for a local property, or try something like house hacking?

Any insights, tips, or even lessons learned from your own journey would be super helpful.

Thanks in advance!

[Rick Albert]

Hey Sasank,

I'm a 2x house hacker here in Los Angeles and invest out of state. I will say that by investing here first, it allowed me the leverage and experience to invest out of state. Mainly because we are dealing with bigger numbers here. A 3% appreciation on a $1M asset versus a $100K asset or even $3,000 a month rent versus $700. With the exception of my last purchase back in March, I haven't done a down payment since 2015 and I was up to 15 doors including my personal residence. 

The top advice is to understand your long term goals and risk tolerance as well as what's in your current bank account. There are a variety of factors that help with the decision making.