HELP! I want to invest but my area is too expensive!

So, you live in the NYC/NJ area and you want to start investing but you're priced out of your target area. Does your journey get stopped by the following unanswered questions before it even begins?

• What areas are best?
• What strategy works best for me? 
• How do I invest, I don't have cash?
• How do I find help getting started?

I was like you until recently, I lived in New York City and desperately wanted to get on the path to financial freedom, after realizing that my 9-5 would NEVER get me there (no matter what position I attained) and also realizing that I couldn't save myself rich. I went on a quest to educate myself so that I could escape the rat race. I read many of the books that get the common investor started and several others and I realized that Real Estate seemed to be the answer. "Eureka!" I was ready to go! Right around that time I found Biggerpockets and listened to every podcast (along with a few others) read as many blog posts as I could, attended live webinars etc but I realized that several of the strategies on the website didn't work for my specific area due to the prie of properties, high tax rates, ridiculous labor costs and laws that favor tenants it seemed like my journey was over before it began. Then I remembered an overarching theme and a word that kept coming up in all of the material that I read...CREATIVITY. So, here are the answers to the questions that slowed my journey, maybe they can help you too:

Q:What area is best?:

A: If you're priced out of your area extend your search there are deals out there 20 minutes to an 1 hour outside of your target area. Start there. 

New York is EXPENSIVE (shocking I know) but I had no idea how expensive properties were until I started shopping for them, have you ever seen a $500,000 duplex thats a fixer upper...crazy. I was priced out! The areas that I could afford had a class of tenant that I wasn't prepared to deal with so I extended my search to 20-30 minutes outside the city in neighboring New Jersey. 

Q: What strategy works best for me?:

A: The short answer, I don't know, but I will tell you again CREATIVITY is key:

I wanted to get started but I'm not a cash investor, I got pre-approved for a nice size mortgage in the rest of the country but even in New Jersey the size of the mortgage that I was approved for put me in a duplex or triplex in an area that I wasn't comfortable living in (we're talking D- at best) my original thought was to house hack my first property. I was ready to pack up the towel and buy a single family in the suburbs then I got creative and decided on a modified house hack. Whats that? Well, I found a single family in a C class neighborhood that was 70-80% renovated (seems like the flipper ran out of money) and ran the numbers, If I gave up my really nice apartment in New York, I could live in the property for a year or so, which would eliminate my rent and minimize my overhead (there wouldn't be holding costs just a living expense and I could finish the renovation at a fraction of the cost of a gut renovation) at the end of the year I could move out and place a tenant in the property. The moral of the story here is get creative, do your due diligence, but don't suffer analysis paralysis, figure it out, take the risk and get started.

Q: How do I invest, I dont have cash?

A: I hear this a lot you can use conventional financing just know what you're getting into.

If your market is similar to mine where there are several more well established investors many of which pay cash, you're going to have to develop a thick skin and practice your patience. Many people won't accept your mortgage offer as they don't want t deal with the long closing time (especially if you have a 203k loan) but be patient and flexible there are still deals to be had. 

Q: How do I find help in getting started?

A: Try to find an investor friendly agent, or, become one

I couldn't find an investor friendly agent that wanted to help because of the size of my deal and the specificity of what I was looking for, also a few agents wouldn't follow up or had no idea (nor did they ask) what my goals were, So, I became a Realtor and got the job done myself. Im not recommending this for everyone but you may want to consider this, it may come in handy with your investing career for a myriad of reasons. If you want to vet a realtor ask them if they invest? Do they work with investors? Do you understand the world of REI? If the answer to these questions is no, you may want to consider if they will be the best person to assist you in your search.

I hope you enjoyed this piece and found it somewhat helpful. Remember, if you want to make your REI career work, you can do it, you may just have to be a bit more creative.

Thanks for reading