All Forum Posts by: Raymond C.

Hi all,

I am originally from Stockton, CA but now live in Livermore, and own a four-plex in Rancho Cordova, CA which is doing okay. I'm looking for my next deal in Bay Area locations closer to home, but as you all know Bay Area prices are very high. Has anyone had any luck in Concord? I noticed rents are decent, and condos that are sub-200K (a deeper analysis must be done though because the HOAs might be the killer of cash flow). To avoid HOAs, there are some SFR's for sub 350-400K with good rents, but again, I have to do a deeper analysis and understand what others might think about the crime, outlook, etc of a Concord, CA investment.

Thanks for any input you might have if you either grew up, live in, or have invested in Concord.  I grew up in Stockton and can provide some insight there to anyone interested (which may be my next place to take a look if somewhere in the Bay Area that's lower cost of entry doesn't work out).

Hi everyone, does anyone have any recommendations for a property manager in the Sacramento area?  More specifically, I have a four-plex in Rancho Cordova, CA which is in the Sacramento Metro Area.  Thanks very much!

@J. Martin -- thanks for the great insight... that Oakland deal sounds exciting, and will definitely colleague request you to see how things progress. Also, thanks to @Account Closed for the good information about the South Bay.. totally agree with everything you say.

I guess in CA, immediate good positive cash flow is very difficult to come by nowadays. I've heard a lot of people on this forum generate their own demand and higher returns through finding a distressed lower priced property and rehabbing it for the long term. This makes sense, but I haven't really explored this route since the thought of it scares me as a newbie. Lots of questions come to mind including how to find a contractor that is does decent work and won't rip you off. But that's a question for another time and forum section where it's probably been asked many times already :-).

Thanks again everyone!

Hi everyone,

I've got about 100K to invest in a downpayment and am looking for long term buy and hold opportunities in Northern California. The Bay Area is expensive, and although you might have a better chance finding renters there due to the population and employment opportunities, it doesn't seem like there is much potential anymore in finding a reasonably priced "up and coming" area where long term you can might get lucky.

I've heard on the news that downtown Sacramento, midtown Sacramento, and East Sacramento may have some construction projects in the near future to revitalize some of the areas. It's a sort of a gamble still because the economy is mostly bolstered by State employees, and prices are relatively high still for decent properties. However, the potential for long term growth and the rents to purchase price ratio seems much better than the Bay Area (and much less risky than being a economically depressed place like Stockton where prices are much cheaper).

Anyone have any experience or thoughts about these areas of Sacramento?

Thanks in advance!

@Eric Siu - Great that you went to UOP! I had a few high school friends that went there, but lived at home and drove in. Do you know where students that aren't local generally live? Is it all over the place, or did they really want to live near campus? I'm not sure if UOP was more a "commuter" school or if students liked to gravitate toward each other and live near the college. If it's the latter, then anything by the Miracle Mile north of Harding Way seems like a viable option. There are some decent Victorian multi-families for good prices a block away from the Pacific Ave and the tail end of the Miracle Mile, but it also borderlines on the sketchy just north of Harding Way. It's only a mile to UOP from there, but a mile can make a big difference in the area :-). In another part of town, there are some duplexes that are in the Lincoln Unified School district (best public school district in Stockton), but because of the higher prices that they command for those areas, the cash flows might not make sense. I am still researching and doing a lot of homework on this and a few other areas in Stockton that are a tier or two down from that. I currently don't have the experience nor stomach to go hardcore south Stockton where things are dirt cheap, but where neighborhoods are extremely sketchy and properties that are very old and need major maintenance. My friend told me his uncle who runs a long time liquor store in that area successfully bought many rentals in that area because he knew the "good" pockets of it. I'll have have to learn about that among other things! Thanks for the reply!

@Paul Timmins - thank you for the IREM suggestion. That sounds like another great way to find information. I will check it out.

@Jordan Thibodeau - thanks for the insight. Great to hear about your success in Sac, and I feel good about Stockton as a potentially good place to invest because I am familiar with it. I also appreciate the referral to a good realtor, but I am currently working with one. If it doesn't work out, I will definitely PM you.

Hi everyone, I'm a newbie to BP and real estate investing, and want to thank everyone in advance for all of the great information and advice so far. My wife and I are looking for our first rental property (perhaps a duplex?), and was thinking of Stockton because investment properties in the SF Bay area where we live are way out of our price range.

Sorry if this question has been asked before, but I am hoping to revive this topic in case anyone has some updated perspective and wisdom for today's market conditions ~Q2 2014. I'm originally born and raised in Stockton, so I feel a little more comfortable with the town than most out of town investors that jumped on the opportunity when houses were dirt cheap. Unfortunately, we weren't in a position to execute on anything back then, and wanted to see if things were still profitable in Stockton for buy and hold (not flipping).

With prices creeping up like everywhere else and interest rates on the rise, I wonder if this is still a decent idea, or should I avoid this at all costs? If not Stockton, where? California may be a tougher than most states, and since we are just starting out we wanted something physically closer to us and still affordable so the logistics are manageable. If/when we get better at this and have a number of successful properties under our belt, maybe we'll feel comfortable investing outside of CA at that point.

Thank you!

Thanks to all that responded and made me feel welcome. I look forward to getting to learning this business and connecting with all of you.

@Ali Boone - thanks for the advice. I was thinking Stockton because prices are still affordable to me, and I'm just starting out. If I buy something out of state I would have no clue about the areas and it would be difficult to manage for a newbie like me. Back when you started out, when/how did you branch out of your comfort zone from nearer vicinities to somewhere farther? These are probably answers for down the road for me, but I am curious while I have you here :-)

Thanks again!

Hi everyone! I stumbled across BiggerPockets while Googling for tips on how to invest for the first time in rental property. This looks like a great community and I'm excited to learn and share with all of you. I have no experience in property investing, but have a young family and am looking to start something now for some long term financial security. We just bought our primary home in Livermore, CA last year, and saved up enough cash since then for a modest down payment on something. I'm originally from Stockton, CA where I am thinking of investing because the prices are much more palatable than the Bay Area. However, I am unsure about the risks due to Stockton being a town that has hit tough economic times. Any advice about investing in such a market is appreciated! For now, I'm thinking my strategy is to acquire property for positive cash flow rental income. Unfortunately, all I can offer to you guys in return now before I learn the ropes is perhaps some help/experience in computers, information technology, or technical sales as that is related to my background and day job! Thanks, and look forward to connecting with all of you soon!