NorCal CRE / Investment property market

Love the enthusiasm, but yes, there is a lot you need to know. I do development in the northeast and I know nothing about Northern CA except the standard: it's socialist, it's on fire, there's no water, etc. Also, RE is extremely pricey in the Bay Area. So the first thing is to figure out which geographic market makes sense for your price point and risk appetite. You are marrying a neighborhood, so make sure you have reasons for doing so. Start underwriting properties you see on the market. That's it. Practice over and over again until you can tell if a deal works in about five minutes. I can help you with a back of the napkin to make sure you're on the right track. Your rent/expense assumptions are important. Have a pro forma of what you think you can do and a pro forma using the bank's standard plugs for vacancy and escalations so you know what your DSCR and LTV are like as you modify your deal structure. Expenses I'd be worried about out there are RET (special assessments esp), Insurance (factually skyrocketing), Payroll, R&M (materials/supply), and just inflation in general. Find local BOVs and brokers for market sale and rent comps. How much can rents really grow? What's your hold period? What's your business plan to capitalize in the future? Look at your financing options. A deal as small as this probably makes sense to work with a local bank. I doubt they give you 80% but 70% is probably reasonable, which is $150K/$500K purchase price. The due diligence process is another grouping of hurdles we can go through when you get to that juncture, but the point I am trying to make right now is that you need to isolate particular submarkets that you want to be in. Basically, have a thesis. Then you'll find out what it means to be a small-time landlord. Which property management company is going to pick up such a small-scale deal? Will you self-manage? Do you have vendor/sub-contractor relationships and a handyman? You work in IB, you don't want to be running out to your little property in the middle of the night because the toiled on the third floor is overflowing and flooding the floors beneath it. Real estate is operationally intensive which is why third party managers are so crucial. Not trying to dissuade you at all, just playing the devil's advocate to get your wheels turning in the right direction. Feel free to DM me.