Hello from the Bay Area!

[Patrick Hunter]

Hi Everyone,

I'm an aspiring rental property investor currently living in San Francisco. I am looking to buy rental property in Sacramento, CA! Any advice from anyone in the area is greatly appreciated!

[Leslie Pappas]

Hi Patrick, welcome! Have you considered investing out of state?

I can tell you what people here have done in Bay Area to set themselves up for retirement. There are two types of investors here:

1. Buy or inherit and hold for a long time, then cash out and redeploy equity into potentially higher cash flowing properties or other investments.

2. Buy or inherit and hold all their lives while working the properties for income.

I've seen teachers, firemen, software engineers and all sorts of people utilize both strategies successfully. One way or another, however, the investors must work to pay down loans, increase rents and decrease expenses wherever possible. One way or another, they are building their net worth.

Building net worth is how you may possibly retire with fewer worries. If your retirement utterly depends on having adequate cash flow from your properties, any downturns will cripple you. AND you must maintain adequate reserves to take care of the disasters that may happen.

So my advice- build your equity.

There plenty of other opportunities elsewhere, my clients are involved in institutional grade properties across the country. My recommendation is to choose cities in safe and economically diversified areas with above-average income and population growth. It can also be safer to diversify your investment properties across the country.

A very good source of local analysis, rereport.com.

Best of luck! Leslie