All Forum Posts by: Harrison Chow

Hi! I’m try to get started on doing some small RE investments. I’m educating myself at the moment, and I would like to start small with a rental property below $100k. I’m wondering if anyone could provide any insight on attractive markets with decent cash flow for investments if this size. I read about Cleveland, OH, Toledo, OH,  Champagne-Urbana, IL, Jamestown, NY  or Fort Wayne, IN as potential good options. Thanks very much in advance! 

Hello, I'm Lucas Anderson. I've been a huge stalker of the BP community for some time now, soaking up all the valuable information you all have kindly given over the years. Now I'm financially ready and have the time to really focus on and truly begin my real estate investor journey. I've saved up $100k and am looking to find multi and single family properties for long term holds. I currently split my time between the USA and Germany and will be doing this all "out of state"

I believe I have a good sense of what to do once I acquire the property, but the golden question that we all are asking - what market to choose?

Currently looking at: Omaha, Columbus, Milwaukee, Cleveland,

My strategy isn't groundbreaking, and of course, this BP community knows it all too well, but it goes a little something like this:

1. Find a property in a specific market with "hidden value"

2. Purchase this slightly distressed to distressed property in a C to B area (cash if I can afford it)

3. Rehab adding value back into the property 

4. Finance or refinance cash out

5. Long-term hold, long-term rent

6. Do it again brrrr

Of course, you can find hidden value in any market, anywhere in the world, even right off the MLS but what I'm looking for more specifically is where a newbie out-of-state investor and "safely" begin with the small amount of cash on hand I have.

Ya'll rock, I hope I one day will be one of the old dogs providing value to the young pups. 

Hello guys! 

I am a 34 year old woman in Ohio pending a divorce and will have about $100k to start over and rebuild when the dust is settled in a few months. I've dabbled in several investment types with limited success (stocks, crypto, etc), and the only thing that paid off significantly was our marital home (it nearly doubled in value since 2018)! So I'd like to embark on my real estate investing journey to grow my money, and am curious as to how you all would go about doing this to achieve the best ROI! Here's my situation:

 My goal is to establish passive monthly income along with owning properties that accumulate in equity. I will not need this money immediately, so am open to either short term or long term strategies. 

I have a credit score of 738, make about $105k a year in base salary and also earn about $30k-50k annually in bonuses. I currently have $100k liquid and am saving an additional $4k per month. Additionally, I am in our marital home and can remain once the divorce finalizes, but if I decide to sell or refinance the home to get money out, I would have an additional $80k in funds from equity to use for whatever route I decide to pursue in real estate. 

I am totally new to real estate investing (other than the primary home we own), and know nothing about maintenance/repairs or the costs of contracting someone to do this on a potential home (my now ex was in the home renovation industry, so he took care of all this)-- but I have the expendable income that would allow me  to afford improving a property if it is  in need of a little care. I also would prefer to be hands-on since this would be my first investment property, so am primarily interested in real estate in the Columbus, OH market and other local surrounding areas. 

Any tips or insight would be extremely helpful!

Hello, my name is Caden and I am 18 years old. I currently work full time while also taking a course online to attain my real estate license. My company is also about to send me to college to take a course to become a project manager. I have been obsessed with the idea of real estate investing, and creating generational wealth since I was about 14 years old. I have read multiple books, and spent hours and hours online reading, and watching youtube videos to learn all of the ins and outs of real estate investing. My goal is to purchase my first property by the beginning of 2024. It will be a multifamily house hack using a FHA loan, and hopefully cash flow a little bit, but if not at least cover my expenses. After this is attained, what is my next best strategy? Stay in the multifamily and keep living with no expenses? Purchase another multifamily and repeat? STR? BRRRR? Open to any feedback, thank you!

Hi, 

My name is Timothy Eaton, but you can call me Shea. (It’s my middle name)

I am a recent graduate from the university of Washington. I have been working full time for almost a year now and I have money saved up and want to do something with it. 

First, I’ll outline my interests. I really like university housing. It is consistent, and highly priced with good cash flow. The downsides are the constant issues with the homes because college students tend to abuse the homes more than a typical family would. Though I have lived in this situation as a college student and it intrigued me and I saw how much money our house paid every month to live in a pretty poor home($14,000/month). 

In order to execute something like this right now would be to pair up or team up with a number of smaller investors to secure a property of this sort and share the cash flow and equity built on the property. If you have similar cash to myself or more please let me know! I am happy to do the grunt work and try to put this type of deal together myself. I just need some help.

Secondly, I am looking at university housing in other states such as Ohio, Alabama, and Michigan. These areas can cash flow without needing to find the crazy deal that you would have to have up here in the pnw. I can also find these projects on my own. 

If you have any advice or have the urge to team up with someone like myself please reach out! 

Dear BP Community,

I hope this email finds you all in good health and high spirits. My name is Rakesh Balavanthapu, and I am writing to seek guidance and support as I embark on my journey as a new real estate investor based in Atlanta, GA.

Having a stable W-2 income, I am eager to diversify my investment portfolio and build wealth through the acquisition of single and multi-family properties. My goal is to adopt a long-term strategy, where I can purchase properties and hold onto them for sustained growth and passive income, a.k.a The BRRRR strategy !

As a newcomer to the real estate investing world, I recognize the importance of connecting with seasoned investors who have navigated similar paths. After researching various platforms, I was thrilled to discover the vibrant and knowledgeable community here on BiggerPockets.

If any of you have experience investing in Atlanta, I would greatly appreciate your mentorship, advice, and expertise. I am eager to learn from your firsthand experiences, including both the challenges you faced and the strategies that yielded positive results. Your insights on identifying lucrative investment opportunities, conducting due diligence, and managing properties for long-term success would be invaluable to me.

As I embark on this journey, I am committed to educating myself through books, online resources, and attending local meetups or events. If you can recommend any specific educational resources, investment groups, or real estate networks in Atlanta, I would be truly grateful.

I am open to various forms of communication, whether it be through email exchanges, occasional mentoring sessions, or even the opportunity to meet for coffee. Your guidance and support will play a vital role in helping me build a solid foundation and set myself up for long-term success in real estate investing.

If you are interested in connecting or have any recommendations to offer, please reply to this post and we will figure out a way to connect. Your guidance would be highly appreciated.

Warm regards,

Rakesh K Balavanthapu

Hey guys my name is Matt Rich 30 year old, I’ve listened to bigger pockets podcast on Spotify for months now and just now getting on here to try and learn more. I currently don’t have any extra real estate I own my home it has extra equity in it considering selling it and building something smaller and using the profit and rolling it into other investments. Fear is my biggest issue breaking through the ice and taking a chance on an investment so here to hopefully finally go through with it. 

Hi Guys,

New Investor here looking for some guidance. My family and I recently moved to Southern California from New Jersey. We sold our home in NJ, and decided to rent here in SoCal. We have a good amount of liquadable assets that we would like to start investing into RE with, as we don't plan on buying our primary home in the near future. We also both work full time jobs, with zero debt.

Because property prices are so high here in California, I am leaning towards investing in out of state rentals. 

I am a total newbie, so I am looking for some advice and direction. Please let me know if I am going on the right path.

I have read a few posts on this forum, and have place holds on the following books at my library to get started:

Short Term Rental - Avery Carl

Long Distance Real estate investing - David Greene

I also found a meetup close by, that I will start attending with my wife.

Please let me know if there are any other books or resources that I should be checking out as we start our Journey.

Thank you in advance, and appreciate this community.

Hi All, 
long-time lurker on Bigger pockets, but a first-time poster. 
I am beginning my real estate investment journey and know that I want to invest in a property out of state (I currently live in Seattle, WA). I would like to find a property in the 200k or less range to start. I am thinking of a single-family or small duplex. I am hoping for a CoC of around 10-12%.
I am open to most markets in the US but starting to feel overwhelmed by the multitude of options. I am having trouble narrowing my search down to one market. 
I am curious how you out-of-state investors narrow down your search criteria?  Addtionally, what markets would you recommend to someone like myself? 

Thanks in advance for your advice

I am brand new to real estate investing. After listening to some podcasts, I have decided to house hack and purchase a multi-family as a first-time home buyer. I lucked out and can participate in a 0% down mortgage up to $850k. I am a traveling healthcare worker, so I can live in anywhere in the country.

I have seen some multis in FL, but they all are so expensive for a turn key property. 

What advice would you give for someone starting out? Which markets do you think I would get the best deal? My plan is to live in one unit for the minimum amount of time (1 yr I believe) then keep acquiring properties.