General question and Portland,OR market

[Aaron Holloway]

Hi everyone, I am new to the site and a beginner real estate investor. I'm looking to invest in the Portland, Oregon market and wanted your thoughts as to the market's potential. Lastly, as a beginner would you recommend investing in a smaller condo property to get started (studio, one bedroom) or would you go for something larger (single family, multi-unit)? As a beginner I prefer to learn the ropes early with something small and manageable and build from there, but if smaller condo units are not typically successful or not recommended, then I'm open to changing my approach. Open to all suggestions. Appreciate your help.

[Melissa Dorman]

I'm new as well and just moved to Portland. I decided to go the small multi family route in order to qualify for more debt using the rental income as part of my debt to income ratio and using an FHA loan so I only had to put 3.5% down. With the small multi family I can have a place to live, put very little down, and learn the ropes of managing all at the same time. Also, I had the incredible help of my investor agent Ben Ficker who helped me learn the market and understand the details of what makes a good or bad investment. DM me if you want his contact. With his help I found an off market duplex using direct mail that I am closing on for $320,000 but it just appraised at $370,000. I'm looking to refinance into a conventional loan by the end of the year and move out. This market is more about building wealth in equity than in cash flow, but cash flow is a great indicator of a good deal and insurance in case the market turns or you loose your job.