Choosing The Right Market For Me

[Galen Heckathorn]

Hi All,

I'm new to BiggerPockets. I live in the Sonoma county North of San Francisco, have lived here my whole life. I've been investing since 2013 when I bought my first single family which I then turned into a 2 unit home. I have since bought two more investment properties, one of which I just sold for a great profit. I'm looking to reinvest into multi family either a nice quadplex or two duplexes. I really want to stay local within Sonoma county as my wife and I have a lot to contribute to the properties, renovation skills, a network of subs for when we don't want to do certain jobs, and management skills. as well as knowing the area incredibly well. We are torn though as properties and real estate in general is so expensive here in Sonoma county. Every purchase when financed traditionally is very cash intensive. We have quite a bit to invest from the recent sale of our property but it would go so much father in other markets. That said we would not have access to all the tools and resources that we currently have locally. I would love to hear the communities opinion on how to priorities where to invest and what you all think would be the smartest move.

- Galen

[Michael Smythe]

Quote from @Jade Miali Everett:

As a property manager that performs a lot of her own maintenance let me just say that it can get overwhelming at times. It depends on the condition of the property, but with California becoming a state that I personally feel is reaching too far into the business affairs of property owners, I would say investing out of state is a much better idea if you have a pair of reliable boots on the ground. 

You will almost certainly get tired of managing yourself. Given that this post was so long ago, I am curious to hear what you and your wife decided to do. 

Why are you responding to a thread that's 3+ years old?