Purchase 1st Primary Residence Vs. 1st Rental Duplex OUS

[L. L.]

Hi Everyone on Bigger Pockets! Im looking to try and get into  my first rental duplex in Cleveland Ohio as well as purchase a primary residence Condo in my city of Ventura CA and Im not sure which to purchase first. The goal is to have 3 rental units within twelve months but need to know which investment to purchase first.  The First option is to purchase a duplex in Cleveland Ohio with 20 to 25% down.  Im under the impression that this may help, or at least not hinder my debt to income ratio. Im thinking that if I can get into a duplex that meets the 1% rule, It might help my situation.  After I get both units rented out I can then try to qualify for a first time home buyer loan in my home city.  I would also have to buy a condo.  The market price of a condo in Ventura County is about 290k to 330k on the lower end.  Also, (a duplex in Cleveland is about 100k). Second Option:  Buy a condo first, rent it out after twelve months and develop a history as a Landlord.  The problem I am seeing with buying a Condo first is that this will ruin my debt to income ratio.  If I was to purchase a condo at 300k this would probably make it harder for me to purchase rental properties and I would need more income. I also wont qualify for a single family home as the price for a house in Ventura County is around 600k to 800k and so a Condo is my only option in Ventura. If there is any one out there that might be able to help me determine which route to pick first and shed some light I would greatly appreciate it.  Thanks much!

[Remington Lyman]

Originally posted by @L. L.:

Originally posted by @Patrick Drury:

@L. L.

I would recommend you buy the rental property first, then after a year or so do cash-out refinance, then buy another one. I would recommend looking towards Columbus OH instead of Cleveland the appreciation is a lot better, which is good for doing BRRRR's Vs Cleveland there isn't much appreciation at all, just cash flow.

Thanks for the reply Patrick. I was actually looking into doing the brrrr method about a year ago in cleveland. I had trouble making the numbers work for me and got discouraged. Either the ARV was too low, rehab too high or the purchase price was too high on the properties I was looking at. It seems as though there is not enough spread in Cleveland to pull off a brrrr in Cleveland. Although Im sure there are plenty of experienced people pulling it off in Cleveland. Im not as familiar with Columbus OH. Is the 1% rule achievable in Columbus? Also, do you know of any Neighborhood grading maps for Columbus that I can look into and maybe become familiar with the neighborhood?

 The 1% rule is achievable in Columbus, Ohio. Here is some information on neighborhood grades in Columbus and Cleveland. https://drive.google.com/drive...