Newbie from Orange County, CA

New Member Introductions
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Newbie from Orange County, CA

Eric Geers
Real Estate Agent · Denver, CO · Member since 2019 · 17 posts · 6 votes

Hey BP community, 

My name is Eric Geers, and I live in Irvine, CA. I'm currently a land planner at Bassenian Lagoni Architects in Newport Beach specializing in designing residential communities. A friend of mine, who is an investor in the Indianapolis, IN area (I'm originally from Fort Wayne, IN), turned me onto BiggerPockets. I am interested in getting into real estate investing, but obviously prices in Southern California are a bit intense. I would like to invest in other markets in the Midwest (i.e., the Indianapolis area), and would love any advice from someone else who is doing something similar! I'm looking forward to learning as much as I can here.

Thanks, 

- Eric Geers 

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Ray Johnson
Irvine, CA · Member since 2016 · 545 posts · 614 votes
7y

@Eric Geers Welcome to BP Eric! I live in Irvine as well near Irvine Spectrum.

I've looked at the Midwest and other Out Of State locations, IN. OH, TN, OK, VA, MD, and DC. With the exception of DC and VA I haven't been able to find any solid overall investments.

I'm seeing some Cash flow opportunities but they don't fit my criteria because they're in Class C- D neighborhoods which I don't invest in. If you're from the IN area you may have better luck finding deals because you'll know the neighborhoods better.

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  • Marlon FongPro Member
    BiggerPockets Support · Bridge City, TX · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 367 votes
    7y

    Welcome to the BP community @Eric Geers!. Great to have you here. 

    BiggerPockets
    0Reply
  • Ray Johnson
    Irvine, CA · Member since 2016 · 545 posts · 614 votes
    7y

    @Eric Geers Welcome to BP Eric! I live in Irvine as well near Irvine Spectrum.

    I've looked at the Midwest and other Out Of State locations, IN. OH, TN, OK, VA, MD, and DC. With the exception of DC and VA I haven't been able to find any solid overall investments.

    I'm seeing some Cash flow opportunities but they don't fit my criteria because they're in Class C- D neighborhoods which I don't invest in. If you're from the IN area you may have better luck finding deals because you'll know the neighborhoods better.

    2Reply
  • Michinori Kaneko
    Rental Property Investor · NY · Member since 2018 · 571 posts · 332 votes
    7y

    @Eric Geers Hey Eric,

    Why don't you look at your home town Fort Wayne? I invest there :)

    0Reply
  • Oliver Chen
    Rental Property Investor · Irvine, CA · Member since 2016 · 1 post · 0 votes
    7y

    Welcome to BP @Eric Geers!

    0Reply
  • Eric Geers
    OP
    Real Estate Agent · Denver, CO · Member since 2019 · 17 posts · 6 votes
    7y

    @Ray Johnson That's awesome! My wife and I live near there, in the Cypress Village area. 

    That's interesting; what kind of neighborhoods do you invest in? And have you found it to be challenging to invest long-distance?  

    0Reply
  • Eric Geers
    OP
    Real Estate Agent · Denver, CO · Member since 2019 · 17 posts · 6 votes
    7y

    @Michinori Kaneko I've definitely considered it. I certainly know that area a lot better. 

    I see you're from New York; what drew you to the Fort Wayne area?

    0Reply
  • Victor Taflinger
    Member since 2018 · 10 posts · 2 votes
    7y

    I work and live in Okinawa but originally from Fort Wayne IN. I wish there were less investors in Fort Wayne because every time I find my first investment house I want to purchase someone else beats me to it. The time zone really hampers my communication with realtor.

    0Reply
  • Michinori Kaneko
    Rental Property Investor · NY · Member since 2018 · 571 posts · 332 votes
    7y

    Hey Eric,

    My wife was an exchange student from Japan, and she has an American family that took care of her when she was a student in Fort Wayne.  We are still close with them and visit them once in a while.  I started considering real estate investing around June last year.  When I visited the family in Ft Wayne last July, i really liked the neighborhood and decided to start out my real estate investing there.  I would have started local if NY's housing wasn't so darn expensive!

    0Reply
  • Luis Escobar
    Pacifica, CA · Member since 2018 · 16 posts · 7 votes
    7y
    @eric geers I live in the bay area and invest in Fort Wayne from afar. This year I made the leap of investing out of state and so far have 10 doors in Fort Wayne and for the most part things are going well. I am really curious to hear your perspective on why you are selecting a different market as opposed to Fort Wayne (I am assuming you know fort wayne very well and maybe have networks there?) I looked at Indianapolis and though the appreciation might be higher the cash flow is significantly less. And actually from what I have seen Fort Wayne too has gained appreciation. Would love to hear your thoughts.
    1Reply
  • Pramod Yash
    Orange, CA · Member since 2019 · 28 posts · 9 votes
    7y

     @Eric 

    @Eric Geers welcome. Glad you posted this question - I was also ruminating of this myself. So far my market selection criteria (just from a jobs potential) has helped me narrow Cleveland, Jacksonville, Houston, Louisville. I haven't traveled to any except Houston. Which makes me anxious about investing there yet.

    Will read up on Fort Wayne. 

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Rental Property Investor · IN · Member since 2015 · 125 posts · 93 votes
    7y

    If you are interested in the market here, please contact me.

    0Reply
  • Victor Taflinger
    Member since 2018 · 10 posts · 2 votes
    7y

    So Camilla Saunders if you have a turn key house under 90k please contact my realtor Jamie Rencher with JM Reality. 

    0Reply
  • Joshua Davies
    Rental Property Investor · Yorba Linda, CA · Member since 2017 · 140 posts · 58 votes
    7y

    @Eric Geers Hi Eric, welcome to BiggerPockets! I also live in SoCal and work in Newport Beach, so I definitely know what you mean about the prices!

    I have invested out of state and definitely recommend it! Let me know if you are interesting in connecting!

    Cheers,

    Josh

    0Reply
  • Lin He
    Investor · Orange County, CA · Member since 2010 · 17 posts · 8 votes
    7y

    @Eric Geers Hi Eric, welcome! I wouldn't recommend investing out-of-state at the beginning of your career. You will likely be sold something that you wish otherwise. It's hard to find a cash flow positive rental in SoCal, but there are many ways to invest in RE. It also depends on whether you want to make a career of being an active investor, or just want to invest your capital. I would recommend stay local, see it, touch it, and it will eventually grow on you.  

    1Reply
  • Adam Montgomery
    Realtor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2018 · 15 posts · 7 votes
    7y

    @Luis Escobar

    I can attest to the appreciation in the Indianapolis area. While looking at market stats today I noticed the average sales price is up over 9% compared to last year. This is across the entire MIBOR (central Indiana mls) service area. Some select areas obviously being much higher increases.

    0Reply
  • Eric Geers
    OP
    Real Estate Agent · Denver, CO · Member since 2019 · 17 posts · 6 votes
    7y

    @Michinori Kaneko That's great! Fort Wayne is not a bad place to start. The city has done a lot of work revitalizing the downtown area, and I know they still have a lot of other big plans along the riverfront. Hopefully they'll be able to attract some larger companies to the area.  

    @Luis EscobarThe only reason I considered Indianapolis over Fort Wayne is because my friend already has a network built there. That's really interesting; I would think that Indy would have better cash flow. What kind of a difference have you found? I wouldn't doubt that Fort Wayne is seeing decent appreciation; like I said above, the city has really been investing a lot into redevelopment. What part(s) of the city have you been finding the best deals in? 

    @Account Closed I would love to connect! I'm interested in learning as much as I can from other people that have experience doing what I want to do. 

    Thanks everyone for the great welcome and feedback! 

    0Reply
  • Emma Ross
    Member since 2018 · 8 posts · 0 votes
    7y

    Hi!  (first time posting)

    I live in Los Angeles and recently completed renovating and renting my first rental property in Santa Clarita, CA.  I am already itching for my next one but am thinking of looking out of state (because Los Angeles is nuts).  I have been thinking about Fort Wayne because my NYC-based investment partner has family there.  

    Can anyone point out some Class A  or B neighborhoods.....and also where the Class D ones are?

    Also, I know a lot of you are local, but do you use property managers?  I am in search of a good one.  

    Thank you!

    0Reply
  • George Blower
    Retirement Accounts Attorney · Southfield, MI · Member since 2017 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    @Eric Geers

    Welcome to Bigger Pockets. You have come to the right place to connect with others.

    0Reply
  • Dmitriy Fomichenko
    Solo 401k Expert · Anaheim Hills, CA · Member since 2012 · 18k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    7y

    @Eric Geers

    Welcome to the BP family! Good to have you here!

    Here are some recommendations for you:

    Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area: https://www.biggerpockets.com/search/users

    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: https://www.biggerpockets.com/podcast

    Wishing you the best!

    0Reply
  • Michinori Kaneko
    Rental Property Investor · NY · Member since 2018 · 571 posts · 332 votes
    7y

    @Eric Geers i would recommend reaching out to Camilla if you are interested in Fort Wayne area.  She actually helped me greatly when i was just getting started (and still helping me to this day!)

    0Reply
  • Michinori Kaneko
    Rental Property Investor · NY · Member since 2018 · 571 posts · 332 votes
    7y

    @Emma Ross Im investing in Fort Wayne from NY as well. Let me know if i can help.

    0Reply
  • Alex Kim
    Lender · Irvine, CA · Member since 2018 · 71 posts · 15 votes
    7y

    @Eric Geers Welcome to BP! I work in Irvine as well (a great place to live, not so great to invest)  and you made me look into Fort Wayne market. I will analyze a deal in this market this week as part of my 90 day journal goal. Haha. Thanks!

    0Reply
  • Eric Geers
    OP
    Real Estate Agent · Denver, CO · Member since 2019 · 17 posts · 6 votes
    7y

    @Alex Kim That's great! Happy I could help direct you to a new market. Keep me posted if you end up following through on a deal!

    0Reply
  • Andrew SyriosPro Member
    Moderator
    Residential Real Estate Investor · Kansas City, MO · Member since 2014 · 10k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    7y

    Welcome to BiggerPockets Eric and best of luck investing!

    Podcast Guest on Show #121
    0Reply
  • James Wise
    Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 30k+ posts · 20k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Eric Geers:

    Hey BP community, 

    My name is Eric Geers, and I live in Irvine, CA. I'm currently a land planner at Bassenian Lagoni Architects in Newport Beach specializing in designing residential communities. A friend of mine, who is an investor in the Indianapolis, IN area (I'm originally from Fort Wayne, IN), turned me onto BiggerPockets. I am interested in getting into real estate investing, but obviously prices in Southern California are a bit intense. I would like to invest in other markets in the Midwest (i.e., the Indianapolis area), and would love any advice from someone else who is doing something similar! I'm looking forward to learning as much as I can here.

    Thanks, 

    - Eric Geers 

     Welcome to the site Eric.

    0Reply
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