Newbie in Orange County, CA
Hey everyone!
My name's Justin Wotring (I pronounce it like "Watch-Ring") and as the title suggests I am new to the RE investing gig. I'm a husband, father of 3 (one boy, 7, and two girls, 4 and 2.5 months), part-time assistant Little League coach, and part-time Cub Scout helper. My day job is being Technical Supervisor of a Clinical Laboratory. As you can probably tell, life's a little busy!
I currently pay a mortgage on a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home in a nice neighborhood in OC that we've been fortunate enough to live in for 5 years. Before that, my wife and I had purchased a condo together (pre-kids). We plan on upgrading to a 4 bedroom since the addition of the 3rd kid, as we have some nice equity built up on our place to help with a down-payment. That's about the extent of my real estate knowledge.
How I got here:
My day job costs me a 2-hour commute M-F, so I quickly decided to splurge on an Audible account so that I can gain some knowledge while I zone out in SoCal traffic. That eventually led me to download and listen to "Rich Dad Poor Dad", which subsequently led me to download and listen to "Rich Dad Advisors: ABCs of Real Estate Investing" by Ken McElroy. Both of these books really opened my eyes to earning passive income through buy and hold real estate investing. When I'm not listening to audiobooks, I also listen to podcasts (mostly ESPN's Fantasy Focus Football, which helped me win my first championship in a very competitive 12-team PPR league *humble brag*). Now that it's the off-season for football, I stumbled across the Bigger Pockets Podcast a couple weeks ago and started listening to a few episodes, which ultimately led me to this site!
My goals:
As a newb living in Southern California, I don't want anything to do with rental properties in my area, as the market is waaay too expensive for my pockets currently. As such, I'm busting out my binoculars and looking in other parts of the U.S. (suggestions welcome) to buy and hold multi-family and single family homes where it's more affordable. I have some cash that I'd be able to borrow from a combination of my 401k, IRA, and/or savings accounts to use as down-payment for my first property (somewhere in the ballpark of $100k). Once obtained, I plan to follow the BRRRR method. Ultimately, I'd love to build enough passive income to allow me the financial freedom to retire early, support my family as the kids get older, free up my time to do things that I love, and be a volunteer/philanthropist in my little part of the world. Since I'm new to the RE investing world, I'd love to network with anyone on this site and build a solid team of like-minded, motivated individuals.
My inspirations have come from BP's own David Greene ("Long-Distance Real Estate Investing: How to Buy, Rehab, and Manage Out-Of-State Rental Properties", and BP Podcast Episode #257: "But My Market is Too Expensive!" (How to Become a Long-Distance Real Estate Investor)), and Bryce Stewart (Episode #276: "Early Retirement ($10k/Month) by Age 35 with Bryce Stewart"). These two guys have really shown me that my goals are attainable!
Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope to have the pleasure to get to know you and possibly work together on a future deal! I'm really excited to be a part of this awesome community!
Best Regards,
Justin Wotring
@Michael Swan Nice to meet you! That's an inspiring story you have! I'm going to add your guest appearance episode to my playlist right now and I'll listen to it on my commute this coming week. I'll keep in touch after that. Thanks again!
Justin
Thanks @George Blower, excited to be a part of this awesome community!
@Craig His Thanks for the advice! The wife's on-board and has even expressed interest in doing some research on properties. We've been married 9 years, so I've definitely learned the importance of listening to her :) Best of luck to you!
@Justin Wotring, welcome to BP.
Do not invest with Morris Investment in Indy if you ever decided to invest OOS. His YouTube channel and podcast are scamming too many new investors.
Good luck
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Originally posted by @Justin Wotring:
@James Wise Thanks for the advice! I've actually been looking in the midwest as the market's cheaper. I grew up in SE Michigan, about 20 min from Toledo, so the NW Ohio area's pretty familiar to me. It would also be easy to make a trip there as my parents still live there. If I find any potential deals can I run them by you? Thanks again for your time and sharing your knowledge.
I don't work the Toledo market but feel free to tag me here on the forums in any deals you are looking for analytical advice & I'll drop in with my $.02
@Bo
@Bo Kim, New zealand best place on the planet to live, USA arguably best place in world to invest these days!
Hey Justin! Congrats on the Fantasy Football win ;) And your story sounds great. I started the same way- Rich Dad Poor Dad opening my eyes. I also read the ABCs with Ken and about 8 other Rich Dad series books. I was basically addicted to them for a few years, and they all helped me get exactly where I am now. On so many levels.
I'm in SoCal too and I have always bought out-of-state (except one recent local duplex). Are you planning to BRRRR out-of-state yourself just getting into it? Doing that and with all the stuff you have going on at home, that seems like it will be a lot. Have you identified any markets you like?
BRRRRing can be great, but it's certainly worth considering the feasibility of it given your current workload already. You can easily buy things that don't need much work and that teams can take care of. (I've always gone that route, and I don't have 3 kids!)
Reach out anytime if any of us can be of any help!
@Justin Wotring Orange county is expensive, but you might be able to find a bargain in your back yard.
Seniors with Low Financial Stability Scores (FSS) can be a good target as likely:
- the houses have likely not been updated in a while so can sell below market price
- they could be ready to downsize or transition to assistance
- need the sale to be easy and inexpensive
There are 1,196 in Orange county with home value under $450,000 and last sale date 18 years or longer.