New to Investing

Hello All,

I’m new to this site and I’ve found the info very valuable. Thanks in advance for helping out someone new to investing.

I want to start investing in a combination of rehab and rental properties. Firstly, do you think that is wise? Should I focus on one or the other?

For rehabbing, what is the best way to get great deals on fixer-uppers? I’m a loan officer, so I know the benefits of leveraging my cash on hand. Myself and my contractor cousin will be doing the work, I don’t know where to find the deals.

As for rentals, my market, Southern CA, will not give me positive cash flow. I’m not opposed to out-of-state if anyone has some good tips for me.

In the interest of brevity, I’ll leave it at that.

Thanks again

You may not be getting answers because you can’t get an easy, quick response from what is not a simple question. Many of your questions have probably already been answered in other posts, so we’d be repeating information. You may check the forums if you have a ton of questions on getting started.

Here’s my shot at giving you answers:

  1. Rehabbing isn’t easy and often costs you more money than what you thought you’d spend. It also takes often 2-3 months or more longer than your wildest estimate. Maybe you can start out by joining some local investment clubs and reading some rehabbing books on Amazon.com’s top list. Get a lawyer to draw up a contact with your general contractor or subs.

  2. On rentals, it’s not a good idea to buy your first rental property outside of the area you’re familiar with. You’ll be on a learning curve and your first property can discourage you if things go horribly wrong. If you want to invest out of state, you need a team of trusted professionals such as lawyer, handyman, property manager, realtor, contractor, etc. You’ll also spend money traveling to the property at times. Again, joining a real estate club or connecting with a realtor that specializes in investment properties would help.

Have you looked into tax deed sales? You might be able to pick up some interesting properties for only the taxes owed. Do your homework, though—There’s usually a good reason why taxes are left unpaid.

I kind’ve liken the whole experience to shopping at Ross…

i live in San Diego,CA. i’m currently investing in Utah with great success.
[in my own inflated opinion, of course ;D ]