This question has been plaguing me for months. Do I buy or do I wait? Will I be able to handle having a group of rentals in one city, and a group of rentals in another city? Or will this be a burden?
I have a well paying job in a very inexpensive college town, with very low priced housing and a large student population, so the numbers work. I've found many multifamilies that obey the 1% rule and I'm ready to make a couple of offers. But one thing is stopping me:
I don't see myself here in five years.
I plan on moving across the country to a more expensive city for lifestyle reasons (hint: rock climbing and snowboarding). But I can't move right now due to an incredible opportunity to make a lot of money at my current job. So the question is:
Do I spend the next 2-4 years landlording here, acquiring a couple of properties, putting in sweat equity on the weekends to create some profitable rentals, and then get them professionally managed when I move? If I can get a good cash flow and a good deal on these properties, should anything stop me from buying 3-4 properties in this town?
Does anyone here have experience with "splitting the empire", so to speak? I know it's not ideal, but I don't want to wait another 2-4 years to begin working with real estate.