Attorney · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2016 · 2 posts · 0 votes
I am a long-time lurker on BP and am ready to make my first investment in multi-family residential (2-4 units). My home market is Los Angeles, which I have been monitoring on MLS for the past few months and the numbers just haven't worked out. It seems impossible to buy anything that has neutral/positive cash flow since asset values are so high.
My gut reaction is to go out of state and buy in markets that are better for investment (Salt Lake City, Texas, etc.). But, as my first investment I understand the risks with managing out-of-state. I have worked hard over the past few years to save over $100k, which I plan to use on a down payment.
I am open to all advice and look forward to connecting with people both in Los Angeles and other markets. All advice is greatly appreciated and I look forward to hearing from BP! The dream is to make a purchase in the next 0-6 months!
Real Estate Agent · Smyrna, GA · Member since 2014 · 185 posts · 101 votes
9y
Hi @Jeff Alpert have you considered your first investment purchase to be a tax sale? I know there's a redemption period before you can foreclose if the original owner does not pay the back taxes but this may be an option to explore to get your foot in the investment door. I'm originally from Riverside and never really explored REI until I moved to GA and graduated college but part of the reason I never moved home after school was the cost of living lol.
It's hard to find a deal in LA with 100k down payment, unless you are looking to move in one of the units and can put less than 20% down payment.
It's not impossible to find cash flow but you have to know your market and look for value add. I didn't see a deal in my market for a few months, but last week 2 deals came on the market in the same day, keep looking and you might find something local.
I'm not a fan of out of state investing, I started investing out of state a few years ago and from my experience the numbers on the paper look much better than the reality.