Another New Guy From San Francisco

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Another New Guy From San Francisco

Ben Kunzel
San Francisco, CA · Member since 2016 · 8 posts · 9 votes

Hello

I am new to the forum and just wanted to introduce myself. 

I have spent the past couple months getting more and more excited about rental real estate investing (reading books, listening to podcasts, etc...) and I finally feel ready to take the leap. 

My business plan in brief is to focus on small multi families out of state (looks difficult, if not impossible, to do in the Bay Area). In the next couple months I want to have an investment city or area locked down and continue to practice evaluating deals with the goal of buying my first property within the year. 

My long term goal from this is to be completely financially free within 13 years (when I am eligible to retire from my federal government job).

It would be great to hear from anyone with a similar plan who lives in the Bay Area.

I am looking forward to learning a lot from you all and hopefully I will be able to return the favor in the future!

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Most Popular Reply

Hank Keller
Rental Property Investor · Mansfield, OH · Member since 2017 · 151 posts · 117 votes
9y

Ben-

My plan sounds similar but from a different state, Ohio. I started with multi family homes in a near buy community while working a FT job. However, my wife and i came across a turnkey company in Indy, adjusted our plan and we are now in year 4 of a 15 year plan to have 23 homes cash flowing 11K/month. We've purchased 8 homes from the same company in two different states which allows us to watch our local properties and be completely hands off on the turnkey side while they also generate cashflow.

When searching for a market to choose ensure it has these 4 things:

1. Population of at least 1MM with steady population growth
2. Job growth that exceeds the national average consistently
3. Business friendly government (inexpensive for structure creation and easy for landlording management)
4. Cheap Houses (we target B class, working neighborhoods at the $50-$75k level with steady 8-10% returns)

Hope this helps.

Hank

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  • Michael S.Pro Member
    Biggerpockets Support · Las Pinas, Metro Manila · Member since 2015 · 7k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    Welcome to the BP community Ben and all the best in your investing

    BiggerPockets
    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Investor · Santa Clara, CA · Member since 2014 · 138 posts · 54 votes
    9y

    Ben,

    Welcome! I invest out of state and host a local meetup which I think may be useful for you...

    Feel free to check it out:

    meetup.com/Los-Gatos-Real-Estate-Networking-Meetup/

    0Reply
  • Leslie Pappas
    Professional · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2014 · 876 posts · 301 votes
    9y

    Welcome @Ben Kunzel, sounds like you are doing pretty well with taking all the right steps. This site is great for networking and getting a ton of real estate information. Best of luck!

    0Reply
  • Ben Kunzel
    OP
    San Francisco, CA · Member since 2016 · 8 posts · 9 votes
    9y

    Thanks everyone.

    @Boris Liubovitch thanks this is exactly what I'm looking for at this point!

    0Reply
  • Dave Friedman
    San Jose, CA · Member since 2017 · 33 posts · 15 votes
    9y

    Hey, @Ben Kunzel--welcome!

    I'm also new and in the Bay Area, but at the opposite end of the peninsula (SJ). :-)

    I'm completing my first two deals now. They're both SFRs, but I'm also increasingly interested in multi-family properties. I'd love to keep up with how you're doing. (I'm also glad to share whatever learnings I manage to accumulate. :-) )

    1Reply
  • Ben Kunzel
    OP
    San Francisco, CA · Member since 2016 · 8 posts · 9 votes
    9y

    Hey @Dave Friedman are your current deals in the bay area or out of state? 

    Will definitely keep in touch! 

    0Reply
  • Dave Friedman
    San Jose, CA · Member since 2017 · 33 posts · 15 votes
    9y
    Sorry, @Ben Kunzel , I should've mentioned: OOS. One in Atlanta metro area, the other in the Indianapolis metro area.
    1Reply
  • Mike D'ArrigoPro Member
    Turn key provider · San Jose, CA · Member since 2010 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    9y

    @Ben Kunzel Welcome to BP. I'm from the Bay Area myself so I know the challenges of trying to invest here. Personally, I like both the Indianapolis and Kansas City markets for cash flow. We sell turn key properties in those markets. You might want to check out our podcasts on our website. You can find a lot of good information on out of state investing there. Feel free to reach out if you'd like to bounce ideas around.

    1Reply
  • Tom Ott
    Equity Raiser and Turnkey Provider · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y
    Originally posted by @Ben Kunzel:

    Hello

    I am new to the forum and just wanted to introduce myself. 

    I have spent the past couple months getting more and more excited about rental real estate investing (reading books, listening to podcasts, etc...) and I finally feel ready to take the leap. 

    My business plan in brief is to focus on small multi families out of state (looks difficult, if not impossible, to do in the Bay Area). In the next couple months I want to have an investment city or area locked down and continue to practice evaluating deals with the goal of buying my first property within the year. 

    My long term goal from this is to be completely financially free within 13 years (when I am eligible to retire from my federal government job).

    It would be great to hear from anyone with a similar plan who lives in the Bay Area.

    I am looking forward to learning a lot from you all and hopefully I will be able to return the favor in the future!

     Hello and welcome! Best of luck to you!

    0Reply
  • Ariel Smith
    Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2016 · 306 posts · 205 votes
    9y

    @Ben Kunzel Welcome from the Bay Area! Yes prices are crazy in our area and the barrier to entry is high. I'm interested to hear where you end up investing out of state! 

    0Reply
  • Timothy Murphy III
    Real Estate Broker · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2012 · 771 posts · 252 votes
    9y

    @Ben Kunzel

    Welcome to BP.

    0Reply
  • Ben Kunzel
    OP
    San Francisco, CA · Member since 2016 · 8 posts · 9 votes
    9y

    Thanks for the warm welcome everyone! 

    Have already got some great advice in the past couple days from this post alone. 

    Narrowed it down to Memphis, Dallas/Ft. Worth/Houston, or Indianapolis. 

    Now trying to decide... to turnkey or not to turnkey... Reading a lot of strong opinions both ways, but I'm starting to think it would be a nice way to ease into the process and learn while still getting some cash flow and capital. 

    3Reply
  • Tom Ott
    Equity Raiser and Turnkey Provider · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y
    Originally posted by @Ben Kunzel:

    Thanks for the warm welcome everyone! 

    Have already got some great advice in the past couple days from this post alone. 

    Narrowed it down to Memphis, Dallas/Ft. Worth/Houston, or Indianapolis. 

    Now trying to decide... to turnkey or not to turnkey... Reading a lot of strong opinions both ways, but I'm starting to think it would be a nice way to ease into the process and learn while still getting some cash flow and capital. 

     That is a good point. I would give What to Ask When Working With a Turnkey Provider a  read.

    0Reply
  • James Wise
    Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 30k+ posts · 20k+ votes
    9y

    Welcome to the site @Ben Kunzel

    0Reply
  • Christian Ritter
    Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2016 · 16 posts · 23 votes
    9y

    Welcome to the site @Ben Kunzel. I'm a fellow San Franciscan. I have quite a few SFR in Indianapolis if you want to discuss. Good luck with your investing -

    1Reply
  • Account Closed
    Investor · Santa Clara, CA · Member since 2014 · 138 posts · 54 votes
    9y

    Ben,

    I just saw you are interested in multy-family so I thought you might be 

    interested in the meet up I host (mostly dedicated to MF).

    You can look it up on the meet up app the name is 'Los-Gatos-Real-Estate-Networking-Meetup'

    0Reply
  • Lane Kawaoka
    Rental Property Investor · Honolulu, HAWAII (HI) · Member since 2011 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    9y
    Ben Kunzel it really comes down to how much you save at the end of the year. If you can save 30k or more then I would get a few turnkey rentals or even skip that all together and go in as a passive in a large syndication.
    1Reply
  • Dustin Haviland
    Title Representative · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2016 · 64 posts · 41 votes
    9y

    @Ben Kunzel One topic to note; Indiana is not an attorney state and you can conduct closings and transactions through a title company without the expense of an attorney.

    1Reply
  • John B.
    Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 46 posts · 20 votes
    9y

    @Lane Kawaoka big fan of your website, and I have a question on what you just said.

    Through my normal job, on a lucky year I'm able to save significantly more than 30k, so would you really recommend to go for passive syndication? I was under the impression that, for a small investor, with long term buy-and-hold rental residential you can get all 4 typical REI advantages assuming you buy right, whereas with the others tax advantages are much more limited and it's generally more for the short term. Am I wrong?

    Maybe it's because the only "passive syndication" I've explored so far are the few trendy crowdfunding websites and I haven't been able to see what "good" syndicated opportunities actually mean?

    Thank you.

    0Reply
  • Susan Maneck
    Investor · Jackson, MS · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 769 votes
    9y

    Actually, you can buy houses for a lot less in Jackson. But you really have to live here to make it work. 

    0Reply
  • Ritch Bonisa
    Specialist · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2016 · 841 posts · 480 votes
    9y

    I'm in Indianapolis and things are really happening here.  Cincinnati is also good.  I see many investors from those larger markets looking at the Midwest.  

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Contractor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2015 · 887 posts · 323 votes
    9y
    Ben Kunzel welcome to BP! Best of luck! Best, Jorge
    0Reply
  • Larry Fried
    Investor/RE Broker · Eugene, OR · Member since 2014 · 3k+ posts · 968 votes
    9y

    @Ben Kunzel Welcome to BP and the world of REI! As an OOS investor myself for some five years now, I can tell you there are a number of possible "passive" routes to take. I describe several with advantages and disadvantages in my BP blog Three Key Routes for Passive Real Estate Investing

    0Reply
  • Dmitriy Fomichenko
    Solo 401k Expert · Anaheim Hills, CA · Member since 2012 · 18k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    9y

    @Ben Kunzel

    Welcome to the BP family! Great that you joined the site! Here are some recommendations for you:

    Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area: http://www.biggerpockets.com/meet
    Set up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alerts
    Read Beginner’s Guide: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing
    Check out BP Podcasts: http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/category/podcast/

    Wishing you the best!

    0Reply
  • James WachobBusiness Member
    Real Estate Broker · Memphis, TN · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 888 votes
    9y

    @Ben Kunzel have you visited Memphis, yet? I'd be happy to show you around and grab some famous Memphis BBQ while you are here!

    0Reply
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