Fresh off the highway investor in Los Angeles

Fresh off the highway investor in Los Angeles

New to Real Estate · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2020 · 19 posts · 2 votes

Hola! I just dropped everything and drove across the US from Northern Virginia to live in LA and pursue a new job opportunity. I am a Government contractor in the IT field and now live in Venice where I am renting a room in a SFH.

Investment intentions: I am going to be 100% debt free in the next 7-9 weeks, sooner if I decide to speed it up/change a few things around. I will need a few months to comfortably stack some capital but my investment priority is multifamily properties, at least 6 doors and I am considering the Phoenix area. For a buy and hold condo or TH, I am considering Ashburn, Virginia. I have never purchased a property of any kind. I don't feel I am ready or even that interested in the L.A. market. Of course as my knowledge increases that direction could change! I am open to any market, just want my dollar to go far for my first purchase without an overwhelming price tag for 400sqft like in LA. Looking forward to networking with folks here on the BP forums, I am ready to get my foot in the door and start executing. 

I discovered BP when my brother sent me a webinar invite as I had expressed curiosity in the real estate world. I've joined a few more webinars since then and finally decided to go PRO, Brandon made me do it! =D I listened to some of the podcast episodes on my drive across the U.S. and have been reading up on so many things. My hurdle that I acknowledge is that I am too focused on learning and listening that I am delaying any kind of action and never starting that momentum to begin really "figuring" things out.

Lastly, quick fun things about me. Used to live a silly Jason Bourne life; multiple passports, spent time in 50 countries from Afghanistan to Cuba to Mali to Mongolia and everything in between, friends never knew where I actually was. Some of my most valuable life lessons and experiences learned during this time. Would be fantastic to invest in real estate in some of my favorite countries, please reach out if you have some knowledge in that. I have also been a Firefighter for 10 years and grateful to be of service to my community. I've also volunteered for a while with an adaptive sports clinic called Catalyst Sports as a rock climber, we work with deaf, blind, and other non-cognitive disability folks to experience and train with the joys of all kinds of sports! I thoroughly appreciate the outdoors and finally have access to the endless beauty and opportunity of the west coast! I am a bit of a motorcycle nut, I race for fun in 3 different disciplines of motorcycle racing and have ridden in some incredible places all over the world. I have been off all social media for 3 years and just recently returned, I STRONGLY recommend you give it a try in some capacity as it is very rewarding. 

Thanks for taking the time to read about a small fish in a big pond. Looking forward to learning, networking and partnering with the fine folks here on Bigger Pockets!

Cheers! 

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  • Real Estate Agent · Vienna, VA · Member since 2016 · 289 posts · 253 votes
    6y

    Welcome to BP @Steven Ortiz!

    This is definitely the place to learn about real estate investing and network with like-minded individuals. 

    Use the forums to ask any question you have, no matter how dumb you think it is. We were all newbies at some point. Learn from podcasts, books, webinars, and other people. Have a plan and follow it. If you keep moving forward, you’ll achieve your goals. Don’t suffer from analysis paralysis. 

    Why at least 6 doors and why Phoenix?  Why a TH in Ashburn? Are you looking to flip/buy and hold/house hack?

    Good luck and let me know if I can be of any help to you.

    David

  • Real Estate Agent · Calabasas, CA · Member since 2020 · 8 posts · 1 vote
    6y

    Hi Steven,

    I enjoyed the Jason Bourne, rock climbing, and charity references, welcome to California, it's a beautiful state. I typically think finding local investments are simpler to manage and there are some bargains even in the LA market. Hope you find the perfect option--

  • Real Estate Agent · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2020 · 34 posts · 18 votes
    6y

    @Steven Ortiz

    Welcome to BP and to the city of Angels :)

    I definitely think that investing locally in LA and surrounding areas has its perks (appreciation, easier to manage) but first you will have to define your goals in RE goals and go from there. Feel free to reach out if you want to bounce off ideas or just to connect.

  • New to Real Estate · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2020 · 19 posts · 2 votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @David Fernandez:

    Welcome to BP @Steven Ortiz!

    This is definitely the place to learn about real estate investing and network with like-minded individuals. 

    Use the forums to ask any question you have, no matter how dumb you think it is. We were all newbies at some point. Learn from podcasts, books, webinars, and other people. Have a plan and follow it. If you keep moving forward, you’ll achieve your goals. Don’t suffer from analysis paralysis. 

    Why at least 6 doors and why Phoenix?  Why a TH in Ashburn? Are you looking to flip/buy and hold/house hack?

    Good luck and let me know if I can be of any help to you.

    David

    Hi David! Thanks for the constructive question so that I may continue working on my why and what. 

    Id' like at least 6 doors for the simple fact that I like the structure of multiple sources of income, while likely smaller sources of cash flow VS. a single source, likely a bigger chunk. The standard don't put all your eggs in one basket. I feel 6 is a good medium between a duplex and a full blown apt complex, seems more attainable to begin with for me but I suppose that will very much so depend on the area I am looking and what is actually available. I have consistently heard, indirectly, that Phoenix is a great area to invest in and from what I've read a 5 year investment is projected to profit 7.7%-ish. Plus, Phoneix isn't too far from me in LA so with the price ranges I'm seeing out there it seems logistically worth my while thus far. A townhouse in Ashburn has been on my radar due to the constant construction of Data centers and the new Silver Metro line stop almost finished. I see this providing a consistent stream of high quality tenants with stable income in an overall good area. I used to live in Ashburn and have seen the growth myself and don't want to miss out! Ideally, I'd like to house hack here in LA but my thinking is to use that money to get my foot in the door with a multi family, have that setup to a point where I can be less hands on and move onto the next idea. A buy and hold would definitely be the townhouse idea, I have not seen many flip opportunities in that area though. I would certainly be interested in flip generally speaking though, but its not in my immediate timeline at the moment. 

    Like you mentioned though, I need to move past that analysis paralysis as soon as I can =)

  • New to Real Estate · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2020 · 19 posts · 2 votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Lisa Jackson:

    Hi Steven,

    I enjoyed the Jason Bourne, rock climbing, and charity references, welcome to California, it's a beautiful state. I typically think finding local investments are simpler to manage and there are some bargains even in the LA market. Hope you find the perfect option--

    Thanks Lisa, Happy to finally be here in this wonderful state! Local is certainly simpler and I really hope I can find that hidden gem!

  • New to Real Estate · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2020 · 19 posts · 2 votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Kam Olsen:

    @Steven Ortiz

    Welcome to BP and to the city of Angels :)

    I definitely think that investing locally in LA and surrounding areas has its perks (appreciation, easier to manage) but first you will have to define your goals in RE goals and go from there. Feel free to reach out if you want to bounce off ideas or just to connect.

     Kam, I will certainly reach out to pick your brain on the matter. Thanks so much!

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