Hey guys, my name is CJ & I am fairly new to bigger pockets & real estate investing. I am 27 years old & currently live in Utah. For starters, my wife & I recently bought a piece of land in a nice area to eventually build our “Dream Home” on, its in a growing area & it supposed to appreciate quite a bit over time with new phases going up all around it. We Paid all cash for it. Secondly, we bought a townhome to live in which we will eventually use as a rental property when our “dream home” is built, but that’s down the road. We paid all cash. We have two vehicles that are paid for. So in a sense we are comfortable with our situation. We have a little over a million dollars sitting in the bank right now. We are very interested in the idea of passive income & rental properties. How much of the million dollars do we take out & purchase properties with without over doing it. What would you guys do in my situation? Would you stay local or would you search the country for the best possible deals? Use property management or do it on you’re own? Sorry for the length. Looking forward to your advice,

Thanks guys. 

CJ

I would diversify as much as possible. I have almost all properties paid of too except the one I just bought last month. Personally I like multi family and smaller commercial buildings under 6000 sqft. Having an IRA is important too

Do some homework/due diligence on areas and
States where positive appreciation is king, or even where you see places gentrifying over the next five years.

Congrats on getting yourself to a great place in life

Hi @CJ Wilcox and welcome to BiggerPockets!

Although I commend your hard work and having a million dollars plus in your account, as a new investor, I would still follow the basics.

Find a niche.

Use the free resources on here to discover and learn more about that niche.  There is a wealth of information on BiggerPockets at your disposal.

Network with other investors on here.

Join a local real estate investors club in your area and get to know other investors and real estate professionals (lenders, title company reps, escrow officers, appraisers, etc.).

Although you may be "comfortable" by most standards, nothing is more painful than a costly mistake as a result of a bad deal.

We are happy to help you in any way we can. That's what makes BiggerPockets so valuable to real estate investors.

Once again, congratulations and I wish you the best of luck in your real estate investing career!