Bought My First Investment in 2018 and Looking for my Next!

[Eric Flatt]

I bought my first deal back in 2018 and it went quite well.  I still own the property to this day.  I had planned to buy a new deal each year, but life took off (in a good way).  I got married and had kids!  I'm now finally able to get back to acquiring properties.  I hope some people can relate to this!  I'm definitely a buy-and-hold investor and still focusing on small multi-family.  However, I'm starting to warm to small commercial multi-family or single-family homes.   Basically, wherever the numbers work.  I'm also really considering long-distance investing to take advantage better markets since I live in Chicago.  There are deals in Chicago, but the legal environment can be challenging as it's a bit more tenant-friendly.

[Aaron Zimmerman]

I would challenge you to find a deal in Chicago. As a Chicago investor and being local, there's definite advantages to buying here. First, you have abundant 2-4 unit supply (about 25%). Second, you have a great, diversified job market that is not heavily concentrated in one industry. Third, you can get plugged into community which will unlock further advantages.

My last property was a 5 unit mixed use building and the property cash flows without accounting for the commercial space. Perhaps that would be of some interest if you can find the right place and do some value add!