Hi guys! I'm a newbie from Los Angeles!

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Hi guys! I'm a newbie from Los Angeles!

Jackie Martinez
Los Angeles, CA 路 Member since 2017 路 5 posts 路 3 votes

Hi guys! I just started getting into real estate lately. I am 35 and I live in Los Angeles, but I'm currently in Atlanta, GA for about 6 more months on a TV project. I work A LOT in TV and film. It sounds cool, but working 12 to 16 hour days is grueling and I want to be able to have the ability to have more free time and I think passive income through real estate could help, though I know that also comes with hard work as well.

I'm going to spend the next 6 months while I'm in Atlanta reading up on as much as I can! I've got the BP books The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to RE, Long Distance RE Investing, and Estimating Rehab Costs, and now Rich Dad Poor Dad, because everyone keeps mentioning it so. I'm halfway through the Beginner Guide Book by Brandon Turner.

When I return to Los Angeles, I plan to take action. 

I just am not sure what should be my first step. In a perfect world, I would love to house hack in LA, but the market is expensive. Should I just do LA anyhow to get an FHA loan as my first property? Then refinance and do out of state as the rest of my properties?

When it comes to out of state investing, I have family in Miami, Orlando, and Peoria, Illinois. I also am familiar with Atlanta and Memphis. What criteria do you use when selecting a market exactly? 

Thank you in advance for your advice!

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Tyler GibsonBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent 路 Orlando, FL 路 Member since 2017 路 1k+ posts 路 2k+ votes
6y

@Jackie Martinez I am a investor and Realtor here in Orlando and I would say the best criteria for selecting a market is knowledge. If you know the market you are investing in you can be successful regardless of high or low prices. The same hold true in reverse if you don't know the market there is a good chance you will lose money regardless of high or low prices. If you ever want information about the Orlando rental market drop me a message and I would be happy to help. 

[email protected]407-590-9858
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  • Brad Stegall
    Rental Property Investor 路 Peoria, IL 路 Member since 2018 路 79 posts 路 56 votes
    6y

    @Jackie Martinez. I don鈥檛 currently invest in in other markets. I live in Peoria, IL and all of my real estate investing is in this area as well. I love Peoria because the cashflow can be so good. If you have questions about Peoria, hit me up. Good luck w your reading!!!

    1Reply
  • Tyler GibsonBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent 路 Orlando, FL 路 Member since 2017 路 1k+ posts 路 2k+ votes
    6y

    @Jackie Martinez I am a investor and Realtor here in Orlando and I would say the best criteria for selecting a market is knowledge. If you know the market you are investing in you can be successful regardless of high or low prices. The same hold true in reverse if you don't know the market there is a good chance you will lose money regardless of high or low prices. If you ever want information about the Orlando rental market drop me a message and I would be happy to help. 

    [email protected]407-590-9858
    GPG Team 596 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    3Reply
  • Anthoney Hanks
    Real Estate Broker 路 Forney, TX 路 Member since 2019 路 1k+ posts 路 399 votes
    6y

    @Jackie Martinez Welcome to BiggerPockets! I just got the Estimating Rehab Cost. Reading it now.

    If you have time while in Atlanta, practice what you learn. Maybe find a realtor to show you some houses and go look at properties and estimate. You might find a property there. 馃榿

    1Reply
  • David Featherstone
    Rental Property Investor 路 Los Angeles, CA 路 Member since 2019 路 23 posts 路 9 votes
    6y

    Hey @Jackie Martinez!! I鈥檓 a newbie from Los Angeles too!!! I am trying to soak in all the info that I can right now. I have a friend (from LA) who currently is investing in Atlanta and is always talking about how he wishes he lived closer to Georgia. So I echo what someone else said, look for deals around where you are at! Hit me up if you want to connect!! 

    0Reply
  • Matt Hershberger
    Riverdale, GA 路 Member since 2019 路 49 posts 路 27 votes
    6y

    Hey @Jackie Martinez, one of the best tips I can give when deciding an area to invest in is to actually drive around yourself looking and studying the neighborhoods and different pockets. I understand you work many hours so this might be tough, but just wanted to give you a tip while you are here in Atlanta. Good luck!

    2Reply
  • James Wise
    Real Estate Broker 路 Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH 路 Member since 2013 路 30k+ posts 路 20k+ votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Jackie Martinez:

    Hi guys! I just started getting into real estate lately. I am 35 and I live in Los Angeles, but I'm currently in Atlanta, GA for about 6 more months on a TV project. I work A LOT in TV and film. It sounds cool, but working 12 to 16 hour days is grueling and I want to be able to have the ability to have more free time and I think passive income through real estate could help, though I know that also comes with hard work as well.

    I'm going to spend the next 6 months while I'm in Atlanta reading up on as much as I can! I've got the BP books The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to RE, Long Distance RE Investing, and Estimating Rehab Costs, and now Rich Dad Poor Dad, because everyone keeps mentioning it so. I'm halfway through the Beginner Guide Book by Brandon Turner.

    When I return to Los Angeles, I plan to take action. 

    I just am not sure what should be my first step. In a perfect world, I would love to house hack in LA, but the market is expensive. Should I just do LA anyhow to get an FHA loan as my first property? Then refinance and do out of state as the rest of my properties?

    When it comes to out of state investing, I have family in Miami, Orlando, and Peoria, Illinois. I also am familiar with Atlanta and Memphis. What criteria do you use when selecting a market exactly? 

    Thank you in advance for your advice!

     Welcome to the site Jackie.

    0Reply
  • Ali Boone
    Real Estate Coach 路 Venice Beach, CA 路 Member since 2012 路 6k+ posts 路 3k+ votes
    6y

    Hey Jackie! I'm opposite from you... I live in LA now but I'm from Atlanta :)

    Househacking in LA- if you're going to refi it into cash-flowing properties, why do it at all and not just start with the cash-flowers? Things to think about on househacking-

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

    Then for selecting out-of-state markets, it depends on what you're trying to buy and what you want to accomplish and your budget, etc.

    0Reply
  • Jack Butala
    Los Angeles, CA 路 Member since 2014 路 2k+ posts 路 515 votes
    6y

    Welcome to BiggerPockets, @Jackie Martinez. BP is maybe the greatest free resource to help you get started in Real Estate Investment there is on the internet. Congratulations and I wish you a ton of success.

    0Reply
  • Nathaniel Ziomek
    New to Real Estate 路 Los Angeles 路 Member since 2019 路 42 posts 路 22 votes
    6y

    Hi Jackie!

    I am also a fellow newbie from Los Angeles, having read some of the same books and guides as you, and also having worked in broadcast television myself! (Sports-domestic & international rugby, mostly). My reasons for getting into real estate are also similar to yours; I don't like the idea of having to trade time for money for the rest of my working career and want to build my asset column! 

    0Reply
  • Parker Eberhard
    Contractor 路 Seattle, WA 路 Member since 2019 路 339 posts 路 325 votes
    6y

    @Jackie Martinez if you are working in Atlanta on a project are you getting paid housing and per diem / craft services? If so, save all the cash you would otherwise be spending. My sister in law is a costumer for movies and gets sent all over the world on the studios dime; gets paid with no expenses what so ever. She ended up buying some multi-family in Pittsburgh after shooting some projects there

    1Reply
  • Erick Uribe
    Los Angeles 路 Member since 2018 路 7 posts 路 5 votes
    6y

    Hey! We should grab a coffee when you're back in town. I have a couple of years of experience but am really hoping to scale up my efforts over the next year.

    1Reply
  • Jackie Martinez
    OP
    Los Angeles, CA 路 Member since 2017 路 5 posts 路 3 votes
    6y

    Thank you all for all your replies! It feels great to feel welcomed here, I have a lot of learning to do! @Parker Eberhard, I do work in costumes as well and I'm saving up all my pennies while in Atlanta. That's the plan! Save and then buy my own property!

    I look forward to attending local meetups and meeting new people. In the meantime, I'll try to analyze the markets from my computer. 

    0Reply
  • Alyssa Dyer
    Rental Property Investor 路 Oklahoma City, OK 路 Member since 2017 路 1k+ posts 路 694 votes
    6y

    So great that you've got family in some good markets! A lot of investors I know like Memphis as well. 

    I'm not sure I would house hack right now in LA. I'd consider waiting until there's a crash so you can buy when prices are down. For now, invest out of state where you can cash flow and you won't lose so much value when the correction happens! 

    0Reply
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