Gardena, CA · Member since 2014 · 4 posts · 0 votes
Hello all,
I am looking to invest in multi-family properties (2-4 units) in the Los Angeles Area in the near future. I intend on financing the purchase via FHA financing, and living in one of the units. I atleast would like a large portion, if not all, of my rent to be paid for by renting out the other units. I am looking for advice on the type of metrics that I should be looking for when looking at properties that are realistic and the best way to research these items?
No problem @Ben Wakefield (sorry, tagging does not seem to work on my phone). It is great to have a mentor. My parents have been landlords since before I was born (I am almost 30), so I learned how to analyze and manage from them. Knowing how to manage is critical for succeeding in buy and hold.
AOA is great, and you can become a member and use them to run credit and background checks for cheap. Their articles keep you informed about federal and state laws, answer legal questions, have tips on marketing and turnover and all sorts of stuff.
You should also read the CA landlord tenant law (it is on Dept of Consumer Affairs' site), to start learning about legal requirements (notices, security deposits, evictions, etc).
Hi @Mark Hall ! Welcome to BP; I'm in El Segundo and also new to these forums. I have the same goal you do of getting my living expenses (especially rent) paid for by passive income from rentals. Good luck to both of us!
Are you aware of rent control in parts of the LA area, and the onerous regulations and hoops landlords have to jump through between that and the landlord tenant laws of CA? I'm not trying to discourage, I just don't know how much you do (or don't) know.
Read through past articles and forum threads on this site, it is a great help! You can search for keywords to find articles and threads specific to what you want to know.
@Kimberly T. the main areas that I am looking in do not fall under the Los Angeles rent control area (i.e. Carson, Long Beach, Torrance, and el segundo). But in the case I run into property that does fall into the LA rent control area I will update myself on this information. Thank you
@Mark Hall, I'm not a fan of rent control, and wouldn't recommend a first-timer necessarily buy in a rent control area. There are a lot of regulations, costs, etc. to deal with, and it can be difficult to get a tenant out. Just some food for thought.
Regardless of buying in rent control or not, I also recommend you and @Ben Wakefield read past publications from the Apartment Owners Association (AOA) in CA to start learning, their magazines always have lots of great articles (aoausa.com). There are probably also good articles here on BP about landlording in CA, but since I don't plan to buy any more rentals in CA, I haven't actually looked.
Thanks for the tip @Kimberly T. ! I will check the AOA out. I have a potential Property Management mentor who might be able to show me the ropes in that field, since it seems like a core part of the Buy and Hold strategy.
Welcome to BP, Mark. I was born in Gardena and the only (!) kid with bright red hair in my neighborhood (158th and Hoover).
I've owned rentals all over your 'farm' area. A word of caution: some properties with Carson, Torrance, Harbor City, and Gardena addresses may actually be in the Alameda corridor of LA City and subject to rent control.
Lots to learn; lots of potential money to make. This is a good place to "paper trade" and start learning. Hard to sort thru the dream merchants and BS artists so make friends here and read everything you can on the topics relative to your interests.
No problem @Ben Wakefield (sorry, tagging does not seem to work on my phone). It is great to have a mentor. My parents have been landlords since before I was born (I am almost 30), so I learned how to analyze and manage from them. Knowing how to manage is critical for succeeding in buy and hold.
AOA is great, and you can become a member and use them to run credit and background checks for cheap. Their articles keep you informed about federal and state laws, answer legal questions, have tips on marketing and turnover and all sorts of stuff.
You should also read the CA landlord tenant law (it is on Dept of Consumer Affairs' site), to start learning about legal requirements (notices, security deposits, evictions, etc).
Late to the party here, but it came up in a search. @Mark Hall and @Ben Wakefield -- it's been about 6 months since this post, how are things going? I'm newer to the forums than you guys, analyzing some deals and figuring out creative financing.
I'm up near Silver Lake now, but I lived in Harbor City for 2.5 years and still get down to the south bay quite often. I've been looking at 1-4 door properties in the area, too. If you have any cool success stories, share 'em! :)