Starting off Real Estate

[Julian Rivera]

Hello BiggerPockets Community, 

I'm 23 years old, reside out of Moreno Valley California. Word has it that Riverside (next door to me), is a hot and growing market! As for a beginner wanting to expand their own passive income/portfolio, I'm fully aware , an investor must be as frugal as one can be and save more than 70percent of their income in order to purchase their own property. I've saved plenty of capital but notice the market around me is way out of my range and would be difficult to get pre-qualified for a loan. What would be a pro-tip or suggestion for me to kick start real estate investing? (highly interested buying and holding) I'm open to many opinions and would love to hear many (in Inland Empire Area) that have successfully invested in my similar market! I look forward to connecting with some of you and hope to gain as much knowledge along the way!

[Taylor L.]

Originally posted by @Julian Rivera:

@Aaron K. Will do! I would not mind purchasing further from me but Fanny Mae would require me (the buyer) to live in the residents over a year, and my job is here where I reside from. If you know (from what I was told), is it true, a first time home buyer MUST finance through an FHA loan?

@Taylor L. Honestly, out of state has been in my consideration for quite some time but ,wouldn't I be at much higher risk of something turning sideways? I truly believe it's possible, but I'm a little hesitant to consider the downfalls. I believe the market in Arizona is by FAR much affordable than the California Market. What big key factors would I have to consider purchasing/renting out of state? What would be my risks of doing so?

Everything carries risk. California is so business unfriendly I'd be more concerned about that than other potential disruptions, personally. Buying out of state has the same fundamentals as buying nearby - due diligence, understanding the market, good property management, etc. You have to outsource more tasks when doing them from a distance, but that isn't a deal breaker if you're doing the right deals. 

There are great thought leaders in the space teaching people how to do it, like Hadar Orkibi. He buys in the US from New Zealand. If he can do it from the other side of the planet, you can do it from the next state over!