Good morning/afternoon BP family! My name is Margo, originally from Portland, OR but currently reside and own a townhome in Anaheim, CA. I have been reading posts in the forums for awhile now, and figured I would say hi. 

I am new to the REI world, although I have owned and sold several residences that I lived in as my primary residences, so buying property is not completely foreign. I have been reading books and posts here, and trying to soak up all the knowledge and experience like a sponge before I commit to anything. My goal is to get into buy and hold 2-4 unit multi-family rental(s) by EOY, but I havent quite settled on where yet. I have been looking at places back home, but I cannot for the life of me get any of the numbers to work out when doing analysis on properties there due to high prices and super high property taxes. Im a little nervous to look too far away on my first venture, but may have to do that.

Any advice or feedback is welcomed with open arms. Have an amazing day!!

@Margo Pierson , the SMF market seems to be hot in a lot of places. As far as getting the numbers to work, what are you trying to get to work? Cash on cash return can be harder with listed properties in more saturated markets. Cashflow is really dependant on how you finance, sometimes going 25% down may make a deal that didn't look possible work out. 

My personal thoughts are if you are investing out of town (more than an afternoon drive) then the distance doesn't matter as much as the resources you will have there to manage your assets and the market that works for your style.

When I started out I was so worried about the numbers in year 1 I passed up on deals that were good looking for that absolute great deal. That being said I am ultra-conservative in my numbers. As long as you don't do eraser math to make the deal work sometimes in seller's market it takes looking past year 1 or lower LTV rates to get deals to cashflow as needed.

@Chris Davidson thank you for your response. The numbers I am trying to get to work are the total monthly cost/rent, so I dont end up in a bad deal. I'm waiting until EOY to have the money saved up for a down payment, so it will be minimal down. Unfortunately I can't house hack because I can't leave CA, so that eliminates FHA option. Portland just doesn't seem to pan out on numbers for me due to such high prices and I've realized until eviction moratorium is over I probably shouldn't look there.

I’ve noticed the mid-west seems to be the best option via other feedback on here, but also have been analyzing TX, NV, and AZ.

Being a Vet, I’ve been considering around military bases also.

Hello  Margo! I'm in the same boat as you. Numbers don't make sense but over the long run they will. That's why a lot of people like buy and hold investments. I'd say either keep looking and don't worry about time, or pull the trigger on something that doesn't necessarily meet your criteria and try your best to make it meet your criteria. In years down the line you'll be glad you got started. 

@Margo Pierson being around bases is a strategy a few people I know used, but they bought as they were moved there. I would definitely encourage checking out different markets if you are going to do out of state. I would recommend David Greene's book long distance real estate investing. It really helps outline all the systems needed to work well and not result in a headache.

Another option would be STR for a vacation home. They have strong returns but not as consistent. Just have to stay a minimum of like 14 days a year to get it qualified for a lower downpayment loan.

Best of luck!

@Stephen Brown thank you for your feedback!

@Margo Pierson

Welcome to BiggerPockets, and thank you for posting! The last property I purchased was done from a distance. I bought the property from CA in AL site unseen and decided to remodel the home as well. I recommend first read David Greene's The Book On Long-Distance Real Estate Investing and then start building a solid team for the strategy you plan to employ. Also, look for an investor agent that invests in the same market you want to invest in. Often they have a general contractor and other key team positions and can help manage the project or even be quality control lead.

Hope that helped 

Sincerely, 

Josh 

@Joshua McMillion thank you Josh!

Originally posted by @Margo Pierson :

Good morning/afternoon BP family! My name is Margo, originally from Portland, OR but currently reside and own a townhome in Anaheim, CA. I have been reading posts in the forums for awhile now, and figured I would say hi. 

I am new to the REI world, although I have owned and sold several residences that I lived in as my primary residences, so buying property is not completely foreign. I have been reading books and posts here, and trying to soak up all the knowledge and experience like a sponge before I commit to anything. My goal is to get into buy and hold 2-4 unit multi-family rental(s) by EOY, but I havent quite settled on where yet. I have been looking at places back home, but I cannot for the life of me get any of the numbers to work out when doing analysis on properties there due to high prices and super high property taxes. Im a little nervous to look too far away on my first venture, but may have to do that.

Any advice or feedback is welcomed with open arms. Have an amazing day!!

Margo, awesome that you joined!