Can or should a beginner ever invest in SoCal

Question

Hello everybody,

I am just curious if as a beginner I should even consider southern california as my first place to start investing. Would it be beneficial to stay local so I can really get a feel for the market/area or would it be better to shop out of state. I am working on saving for a down payment for my first property so I am still in the early stages but want to start researching right away and really lock down my strategy.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Thank you!

PS: Pretty new to BP so I apologize if this is in the wrong spot!

Aaron K. · Answer

@Elijah Householder I can't make that decision for you.  Also not every market is prone to disastrous mistakes.  CA in the past has also had great overall returns due to appreciation but that is not guaranteed in the future.  If it were me I'd start in CA and branch out from there, it is what I did the first time and I'd do it again.

Elijah Householder · Answer

@Aaron K.

Hi Aaron,

Thank you for the response! In your opinion, should I focus on trying to maximize my cash flow from the start? Or would it be better to focus on learning in a safer market like California where I am able to walk properties and I have a better feel for the areas?

Aaron K. · Answer

@Elijah Householder can you? absolutely especially if you want to house hack.  Should you? it depends on you, if you want to mathematically maximize your cash flow return then no.  If you want a solid base of education on management, and really getting to know a market and a low chance of things going drastically wrong because you don't know the area then yes local is great.