New Real Estate Investor

[A.J. Albritton]

Hey Everyone,

I'm new to real estate investing as well as the bigger pockets forum so please excuse or inform me of any faux pas I may commit in this post. I have been interested for about a year in real estate investing but I have yet to pull the trigger on a property. Recently I have been given the opportunity to relocate to New Orleans with my company who has an office there. Part of the relocation package is to keep my current home and be given a sum of money based on my current homes worth to buy a second home. As this will be a temporary move this is going to be what I go with. My thoughts are to house hack a duplex-four plex within 30 miles of New Orleans' CBD to start my real estate portfolio. My main questions are have any of you had any experience investing in New Orleans or surrounding areas and what issues have you incurred. What do I need to look out for or any tips that you can share with me. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

A.J.

[Stephen Keighery]

I like your strategy. Like the majority of the US right now the market is hot so it's hard to get a deal. The flood zone is important in New Orleans and you want to factor in the price for flood insurance into your numbers. It's also a hard market to comp as areas change block to block so you want to have a local realtor to guide you on that. It is a great place to live and I am sure you will fall in love with the place.