Newly Married Couple - First Multi Unit LTR Opportunities Logan, UT or Pocatello, ID
Good afternoon all,
After years of life transformations, moves, and incredible experiences, my partner and I have tied the knot! I met the most wonderful woman out here in UT five years ago, and made the 2,000 mile trek from NJ to settle down with her and build our life together. I am 34 years old and she is twenty years my senior. We have polarizing life experiences in many facets, however we have used these differences to form an unstoppable bond and strength to tackle all of life's curve balls. I couldn't ask for a better partner! :)
She is wise and has owned 5 personal properties throughout her life, upgrading each time to increase her quality of life. I have never owned a single piece of real estate because I have always felt priced out of the NJ market and felt relegated to being a permanent renter. Since moving out west, my eyes have been opened to the real estate world and the opportunities that lie within. She is a teacher in Salt Lake City retiring in June with a full pension. I work in IB/finance and work remotely for a firm in Manhattan. Our combined income going into 2027 should be around $250k/year. I have a background in retail broker-dealer operations creating stock and bond portfolios for private clients. We are both comfortable with our current holdings and look forward to branching out into real property to generate strong month-to-month cash flow.
I have read Brandon Turner's Rental Property Investing, David Greene's Long-Distance Real Estate Investing, Hold: How to Find, Buy, and Rent Houses for Wealth along with a few other guides (you get the idea). Having a financial background has been helpful from the numbers-side, however I am eager to build up my team-building knowledge along with understanding the entire closing process.
I have given a lot of thought as to where we want to start our journey. I want our first property to be within 4-5 hours driving distance from Layton, UT. College towns are interesting to me for multiple reasons; multi-unit properties near campuses almost wipe out vacancy risk and consistent demand for student housing.
I'm exploring two locations: Logan, UT and Pocatello, ID. Logan is economically tied to the booming Utah Wasatch Front. Cache Valley has massive corporate employers (iFIT, Malouf, Campbells) and a massive student population that creates an artificial housing shortage. Because mountains surround the valley, land is scarce. This drives intense property appreciation. Pocatello is historically a blue-collar rail and industrial hub. Population and job growth are steady but much slower. Because land is readily available to build outward housing prices don't get squeezed the way they do in Utah.
One my wife's friends is an experienced UT realtor. I plan on picking her brain about her multi-family knowledge to start the conversation about LTR opportunities. Before I do this I wanted to ask the BP community --- Where do I start?
To throw some numbers out there:
* I'm searching for duplex/triplex MLS listings in the $300-450K range in Logan, UT and Pocatello, ID.
* We currently have about $30k earmarked for a down payment. We have up to $100k liquid by EOY 2026 for initial funding, and this is flexible, but the goal is to put down 15-25%.
* I don't have the expertise or team to properly BRRRR. I'm exploring turn key options, or options with minimal work needed.
* I'm targeting 5-10% CoC return. Appreciation is desirable however strong cash flow takes precedence for me. Pocatello has some 1950s duplexes that seem to have insane cash flow. What is the catch?
* I want to use a property manager to handle leasing and maintenance.
Initial Questions (please let me know if any of this sounds wrong):
1. We want to open an LLC to start this journey. A single-member LLC would be much simpler for tax return purposes. Is the any reason we should open a multi-member LLC/partnership instead of a single-member LLC under one of our names? We will be filing joint tax returns 2026 onward.
2. Should I go to a local credit union or lender to get pre-approval for a certain amount? Financing seems tricky here. I'm targeting a conventional loan under my personal name and then moving the mortgage to the LLC after closing. Is this something that I should be upfront about to my lender? I want everything to be above-board and flow smoothly. I have no mortgages under my name. My wife has a single mortgage for our personal residence under her living trust. I want to avoid DSCR loans until I must start considering them.
3. How do I begin building out my team? I'm not familiar with ID laws or realtors. Any advice here?
Thank you in advance! You guys are a wonderful bunch. :)
Most Popular Reply
Before going deeper on this deal, I'd check two things:
1. Rebuild the NOI from scratch using market comps for rent, not the seller's numbers.
2. Run the debt service at current rates plus 0.5% to stress-test.
That gives you a realistic floor for the deal.