All Forum Posts by: Sarah Lam

@Marco Santarelli Thanks for that helpful post! Do you have any properties in the Chicago area? If not, is there a reason why you haven't invested there yet?

@Marco Santarelli About $100-$150K. Does your company work with any turnkey providers in those neighborhoods?

Hi Elijah! Welcome to BP! :) I'm from Santa Clara, currently living in the city! Nice to see another Bay Area newbie on here. The market refers to pretty much all available properties for sale. You can analyze it by type of property, geographic location, etc. There's a whole bunch of things to look for, depending on your REI strategy, and I'm still learning about all of them myself! Some big ones that come to mind are job growth, population growth, etc.

Poke around BP and read as much as you can! Good luck :)

@Andy Kaufman that's perfect! Count me in for sure for the google hang out.

Thanks @Account Closed for your input. I knew Chicago was tenant-friendly, but that rule is insane! I'll definitely look into the CLTO.

Any suggestions on those other areas to invest in? I would definitely prefer not to rent to Section 8 tenants (esp for my first deal!) but I'm not sure if there are any small MFR's at my price point.

Oh hey @Ali Boone Fancy seeing you on here :) Thanks again for all your help and advice!

Thanks for the encouragement @Marco Santarelli - it's reassuring to hear my research agrees with an experienced investor's research. Any thoughts on Chicago? Particularly South Side and Section 8 tenants?

Thanks @Dan Shoemaker - I just PM'd you! Definitely looking for some great professionals to connect with, especially as an out-of-state investor.

Hey @Andrew Herrig thanks for the quick response! I would like to be around $100-150K. Not sure if that's reasonable for "B" neighborhoods.

Hi everyone!

So I've been dutifully reading and researching about REI since I've joined this site. I've mapped out my goals, and would really love to hear some feedback. FYI, I live in San Francisco and can't afford to get started in REI in my area. 2/1 condos in my neighborhood go for $1.1M and rent for 3.5K-4K/mo.

I'm investing in real estate to replace my bonds portion of my portfolio. I want a balance of CF and appreciation; I don't need the income, but would like to be able to reinvest profits into my next property. I'm taking a buy-and-hold approach with small MFR turnkeys, but would consider SFR turnkeys if the numbers were particularly good. In the next 8-10 years, I'd like to acquire 4 properties, one in every major geographic location of the US - Midwest, South, East Coast and West Coast (where I reside). I'm interested in suburbs of major metropolitan areas, so I'm particularly interested in the Chicago and Dallas/Fort Worth areas. East and West Coast areas will require more time for me to save before I enter the market there, so I'm focusing on Chicago and Dallas/Fort Worth markets for now. I will be using property management companies.

Chicago investors - I'm looking at some turnkey duplexes in the South Side. Are there any neighborhoods that are in the process of gentrifying? Any neighborhoods I should absolutely avoid? What's the market cap rate for 2BR/1BA duplexes in the South Side?

Dallas/Fort Worth investors - I know the SFR market is hot right now, but how about small MFR? Any recommendations on neighborhoods that are "B" quality?

Let me know if I should provide any further information. Looking forward to reading replies!

Welcome, Brad! I grew up in Santa Clara and am now in the city. I also have my sights set on out-of-state investing. Glad to hear your first experience has gone well so far! :)