First Investment 2026

[Jose Santivanez]

Hi All,

I am a 29 M based in Manhattan looking to purchase my first investment property in 2026. I am currently eyeballing either the Orlando or Atlanta market to make my first investment with my wife.

Generally speaking, this first investment will serve as strong foundation for becoming familiar with the real estate investing process, and for establishing a portfolio we plan to grow. All subsequent deals will be similar up until we have enough property and equity that will allow us to pivot into larger commercial deals 10 years (or less if possible) out. 

Considering above, we plan to take the slow BRRRR approach where we will be looking for an opportunity that will allow for some forced equity in the mid-term time horizon. With that, we're looking for homes that only need small cosmetic lifts right now, but may allow for some ADU opportunity or other enhancements further down the line .

We currently have about $50k ready to deploy for a downpayment for our first investment, and we will be contacting different lenders to see what our purchasing power is and what different debt products may be offered. My wife and I have a combined net worth of over $320k between cash, IRA, 401k, and standard brokerage accounts and we earn over $325k annually with expectations for the income to grow, so we feel like we have a strong financial base to allow us to go out and take calculated risk.

As an additional note, we have family/friends in both Orlando and Atlanta so that largely plays a big factor in narrowing down to those two markets as that will us trusted boots on the ground as a long distance investor. Some additional pros for each city...We used to live in Atlanta for a couple of years, so the market is not completely foreign to us. My cousins are actively participating in a rehab in Orlando (and they live there) so they already have a great team to work with there that I can likely tap into - I will still do my own due diligence of course.

Any thoughts, tips, or even just introductions would be very much appreciated.

Cheers,

Jose

[Taylor Dasch]

Congrats on getting started! Honestly, with your HHI at $325k, you guys are in a killer position.

My two cents: Don't stress too much about hitting a home run BRRRR on deal #1. Since you're investing long-distance, the management headache of a heavy value-add project can be a nightmare if you aren't there to babysit contractors.

If you have trusted family in Atlanta, I'd lean heavily into that market over Orlando. Having someone who can actually drive by the property and Facetime you when a pipe bursts is worth its weight in gold. Maybe look for something that just needs paint and floors to start? Get the base hit, learn the ropes, then go for the big rehabs later.