Fear of buying first property

[Matt Liu]

Hi guys. I'm a 28 y/o beginning investor, and have been more than ready (intellectually, financially, etc) for almost a year now to buy my first property. I'm going to find and manage the deal, and my parents will help with half the purchase or even a little more.

The problem is I am looking at such a low price point in my area, that when I actually get up close to the house and meet the tenants, I get freaked out.
How am I going to deal with these people? especially some of the section 8 people I meet! Even if I outsource PM, who knows what repairs and other surprises are in store for me with some of these places.

Does anyone have experience with this? Would you say you have to approach slum-like investments as a semi-slumlord just because that's the reality?

[J Scott]

Why don't you focus on buying in nicer areas? In my experience, solid blue-collar neighborhoods with the majority of houses being owned (as opposed to rented) make for the best rentals.

While you may be able to get better cashflow in a rougher area, there are a lot more headaches and if you don't know how to manage these units (and tenants), you'll likely burn out pretty quickly.