Moving 1,500 Miles Away to Buy His First Rental with Just $25,000

Your first rental property is out there; it just may not be where you live. Austin Wolff came to this conclusion quickly. After paying his “cheap” rent of $1,600 per month for a small place in Los Angeles, he knew he needed to start saving up the money to buy his first investment property if he was ever going to afford to live in Southern California full-time. So, he began compiling a list of America’s most affordable, growing real estate markets. He found what he believed to be the best bet, packed up his bags, and moved 1,500 miles away to get the deal done. He left behind his friends, girlfriend (don’t worry, they’re just doing long-distance now), and filmmaking passion temporarily to do what he felt was best to build wealth. What was the real estate market so good he couldn’t let it pass him by? How did he get into his first property with just five percent down and only $25,000 in cash? And why does he believe NOW is the time to buy? Stick around to hear why this real estate-focused data scientist made such a radical move in the name of financial freedom and exactly how he analyzes markets and rental properties to see whether they’re worth the effort.  In This Episode We Cover: Moving 1,500 miles away to “house hack” in a much cheaper market  Ranking the top affordable, growing real estate markets in the country  How to get into your first investment property for just five percent down! Conventional vs. FHA loans and what Austin thinks is the better option for rookies  Austin’s deal analysis formula that will get you more accurate cash flow estimates  Serious advice for rookies and why waiting on the sidelines could cost you  And So Much More! Links from the Show Ashley's BiggerPockets Profile Tony's BiggerPokckets Profile Join BiggerPockets for FREE Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group BiggerPockets Deal Finder BiggerPockets Lender Finder Find Your Perfect Market with “BiggerPockets Market Finder” Grab “The House Hacking Strategy” Book Find an Investor-Friendly Agent in Your Area The 10 Best Markets for Your First House Hack Connect with Austin (00:00) Intro (01:01) Film Director to Data Scientist (03:56) Ranking the BEST Markets (09:41) Saving Money EVEN in LA (12:32) Moving 1,500 Miles for First Deal (20:59) Financing, Rent, and Management (25:32) Future Goals and Next Steps (28:35) Advice for Rookies Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-473 Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices