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Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2010 · 910 posts · 889 votes
Hi All,
@Jay Y. suggested this meetup and I am helping him post it. This is a last minute organized meetup and we welcome anyone who would like to attend! This discussion was started in the South Bay Meetup thread here:
Looking forward to meeting new investors and seeing familiar faces.
Regards,
Johnson
Keywords:
East Bay , East Bay Meetup , Bay Area , Meetup , Meet up , Meet-up , San Francisco , Oakland , Berkeley , Alameda County , Contra Costa County , Solano County , Richmond , Hercules , Concord , Albany , Pittsburgh , Marin San Rafael , South Bay , Peninsula , Walnut Creek , Pittsburgh , Antioch , Pleasanton , Fremont , Castro Valley
Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2010 · 910 posts · 889 votes
12y
This was a great meetup! I counted 20+ people there, it was awesome. I think I could talk to each person for at least an hour, I wish there was more time in a day.
@Jay Y. - Thanks for proposing the meetup and bringing the name labels. I didn't think they were a big help until this meetup. Also thanks for moving the meetup one day after mines! We should do think again, I am thinking Friday, July 18, same place. Anyone interested?
Investor · Fremont, CA · Member since 2014 · 35 posts · 15 votes
12y
Hi,
Sorry I had to leave early. But, iIt was nice meeting all of you yesterday and it helped putting faces to the names in my memory. Thank you for arranging this.
Rental Property Investor · Oakland, CA · Member since 2011 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
12y
@Jay Y. , Thanks for setting up this meetup and taking charge down on the peninsula! People have been lagging down there! I can’t always make it down that way, but this was a great opportunity. It’s great being able to hear about your out of state experience also. I think everyone hearing more about the due diligence process front to back would be a great benefit, and help others get more comfortable with researching and deploying funds out of state.. and why you’re interested in coming back.. Anyway, great meetup, and great location! I wish I could find something like this in Oakland! I did post my next meetup here:
Rental Property Investor · Oakland, CA · Member since 2011 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
12y
I POSTED THE NEXT MEETUP IN OAKLAND & SUMMIT INFO ABOVE...
@Anshu Sanghi , As Minh said, Rich Weese’s book is full of great info and strategies to get your mind going.. I ordered one, and it sounds like he’ll be able to come out and speak at my Summit, but waiting for final confirmation. All the proceeds go to Alzheimer’s charity. You can get it from his website here:
@Raymond Yeung, Good seeing you again, and would be happy to talk to you about Oakland.. you like the area too? Let’s chat!
@Mike I like your ambition in getting into real estate. Once you've done your due diligence, I think buying a 2-4 unit with an FHA loan is the best way to get into a good-size deal with just a little capital – if you're prepared to take on that kind of debt, and flexible enough to live where the deals are for at least a year.. My best advice to start: keep your expenses low, and save your money for RE!
@Susan Gong , It was a pleasure meeting you, and it was so nice of you to pick up the tab! Thank you :) These meetups are a great place to get ideas for investments, see what others are do, exchange strategies, and establish relationships for future potential deals. Fix & flip takes a lot of work, experience, & capital in this market – and only makes you money while you’re doing it successfully. “Fix and holds” keep producing income and equity for as long as you hold them.. So that’s my preference! Lots of good folks here, making good money all over! So be sure to stay in touch, and come out to the next one!
For Susan and others looking for any sort of information on demographics, distributions of property types/sizes, crime, weather, forums with local advice, and any and all amazing people and real estate information, check out:
A great place to start, but as I recommend, there is no better research when you get down to being in contract than personally talking to people who live on the street ;)
@Enrique, Congrats on the baby on the way! And welcome to a great group of people.. As you can see by the wide array of investment strategies in the group, there are many way to deploy capital. Interesting that we have a few people that have invested both in and out of state – two of which at least are looking back in CA it sounds like (Ray and Johnson H). Explore around, utilize BP, and go to local meetups.. Great way to get more ideas and perspectives! Lots of smart & experienced folks out there..
Rental Property Investor · Oakland, CA · Member since 2011 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
12y
@Moshe Gat , Nice to meet you, and hopefully you didn’t get too much negative energy from some of the out of state talk lol. I think there’s lots of good money to be made all over.. As long as you understand the market, and like the long-term dynamics. Congrats on building a nice portfolio! To many more!
Glad I got to talk to you a little bit more this time, with the late-night crowd. Like so many of us, looking for that balance of cash flow and appreciation that meet our near-and-long term goals. There are definitely a lot of strategies out there. Keep exploring, and I’m sure you’ll find something that suits your needs ;)
@Wira G. Welcome to the group, and I apologize for my confusion on your name! The consonant-vowel, consonant vowel combination is very similar to Japanese character sounds – my bad! Selamat datang! And nice to meet you!
@Account Closed
Hope you kick @ss in the tennis tournament tomorrow! And good luck on finding the next sweet deal (after closing last week lol) – and on rehab. It’s been sparse out in the East Bay too, but there’s been some deals here and there. I think we’re just going to have to start using more organized, targeted strategies that may have ongoing costs to find the best deals. But since I don’t need a ton of them, I think I’m going to start down that path for the next one.. I have some ideas I haven’t used in the past, and happy to share some of those with you too.. Starting at shuttered & dilapidated properties in target areas by doing drive-by's.
I think you get the new most attended meetup award recipient! After dethroning @Amit M. , and maybe Kevin Auyong… These meetups are a such a great place to get perspectives and hear about returns in different markets. I almost want to start compiling the information! Lol Hopefully you’re getting a lot out of them. Curious what you thought about this format, rather than breaking into smaller groups.. I always want to talk a little more in-depth with a few people, but it was nice to have the group discussion too.. I’m planning on adding a little more of it at my meetup on July 2 (see link near top of this post).
Good to see you again! Been a bit! Glad to see you’re still out and about, absorbing ideas, and planning for the next investment.. Hope you find the prospects your looking for in the right timing.. Wish you could have made the meetup at my new 4plex! You can see the details on the post above though..
Kiran Reddy,
Nice seeing you again also, and on the forums.. I liked this group discussion! Going to have more at my meetups in the future..
Bing, Rick, Andrew Tabalujan, hopefully we can get a chance to chat more at the next one.. Wed, 7/2 in Oakland!
Great meetup @Jay Y. ! Thanks for taking the initiative, and good venue!
San Jose, CA · Member since 2013 · 7 posts · 4 votes
12y
Yesterday was definitely an eye opening experience for me as I have learned a lot. A lot of the information just blew right over me, but I did take away some useful information and I think overtime with diligent studying and attending such an invaluable meetup like this will help me reach my goal through osmosis.
I learned a lot from everyone there during the meetup, but I think I've a little bit more afterward one-on-one when we got kicked out of the cafe.
I would like to thank @Johnson H. for answering my questions and for leading the discussion.
I would like to thank @Minh L. for answering my newbie questions and recommending to some great book.
I would like to thank @J Martin for inspiring me to want to take his path in finding 4 units duplex with the FHA loan, getting lots of cashflow and making lots of money only in 1.5 years!!! And also for telling us about taking out another FHA loan for another 4 unit duplex...that was awesome information and about your handy man story lol
I would like to thank @Jay Y. for making this happening, for teaching me about many concepts I didn't know before and for staying late after with @Raymond Yeung and me talking about subjects that are not necessarily related to Real Estate haha
San Jose, CA · Member since 2013 · 7 posts · 4 votes
12y
@J. Martin I definitely felt inspired by your story with the FHA loan and the 2-4 unit. I will definitely save my money and also keep you in mind. You don't mind if I contact you from time to time to tell you my progress, do you?
Investor · Sunnyvale, CA · Member since 2014 · 24 posts · 16 votes
12y
Last night's meetup is awesome! Thanks @Jay Y. for organizing it. It's great pleasure to meet some many BP friends. It's amazing to see 20+ investors sit together and share experience, insights and questions. My unforgettable first time BP meetup!
Investor · Milpitas, CA · Member since 2013 · 12 posts · 12 votes
12y
It was a great meet up. Thanks to @Jay Y. for arranging this and @J Martin for the links posted. It was eye opening to hear out insights from @Johnson H. and @Minh L.
I wish we had more time connecting 1-on-1 learning from each other's experiences.
Investor · San Jose, CA · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
12y
Jay,
It was a success for your first meetup in my opinion. It was a great spot too. About 20 people showed up. I didn't get a chance to ask you why you're looking for in state investing now.
@Moshe Gat , congrats on getting it done in both the AZ and TX markets. It's just a matter of time before you will become a real estate guru.
@Susan Gong , thank you for your generosity. I'm not sure how much the bill was. I made sure my wife paid for her and my daughter's dinners. We do something similar to this in my family. When we go out for lunch or dinner, each couple put a credit card in a hat. We ask the waiter/waitress to pick out a credit card. If your credit card gets picked, you pay for that meal. If the meal is too pricey, we ask the waiter/waitress to pick out two credit cards and split the bill between the cards.
It was a pleasure meeting some familiar and new faces. @Andrew Tabalujan and @Kiran R. , congrats on your first deal. You have to start somewhere right?
Bing, congrats on your 2.49% HELOC. :0)
If anyone has any questions related to loans and real estate, just ask away. I'm more than happy to help where I can. If I don't have the answer, probably Johnson and J Martin would have.
Good luck to all. It was a very fun meeting. See you all next time.
It's Meriwest Credit Union. Their promotional period will end by the end of this month so you'd better hurry up. The 2.49% HELOC is fixed for 2 years. After that, it's prime + 0.25% or 3.5% now. If you need me to put you in contact with some one there, let me know.
4% is about fair market rate. Both Bank of America and U.S. Bank are offering 4% HELOC as far as I know. I wouldn't be surprised if someone would correct me that B of A is offering 3.97% and U.S. Bank is offering 3.99%. :-)
Investor · Milpitas, CA · Member since 2014 · 116 posts · 103 votes
12y
@Account Closed Thanks a lot for the info!
I just checked at their website and saw their promo. Their promo rate is surely very nice. However, their requirement is for 80% LTV, which will provide me with little money to work with. Since the timing is tight, would they use Zillow numbers in place of real appraisals ? :D
However, I know it's possible to use HELOC to pay down payment for a conventional mortgage, right? Which is then quite reasonable to purchase something meaningful.
I am considering the pros and cons for me to pursue purchasing my second rental soon, or if I should apply patience for now.
Real Estate Investor · Santa Clara, CA · Member since 2014 · 16 posts · 9 votes
12y
@Minh L. - It's gonna be a long while before I'll consider myself a guru, but u did put a smile on my face ... Either way - Thanks!
I do have a quick question for u, though, regarding Home Equity Loans and HELOCs - do u know if the interest payments for these loans are tax deductible? I won't be able to take advantage of this great Meriwest promotion, but I do consider to take a Home Equity Loan or a HELOC, and use it to pay off two Fannie Mae mortgages with super small amounts (under $70k each). That way, I'm gonna free up 2 Fannie Mae mortgages, which will allow me to buy two more properties with conventional financing. What do u think?
Zillow tends to be not very accurate. I doubt any lender out there use it. Based on my experience with Meriwest, they use their in-house method to come up with your home value. If you disagree with the value, you can ask for a formal appraisal. They will give you a list of their 5 approved appraisers to use. You will have to pay $300 for the appraisal. U.S. Bank is a lender that I know will go up to 90% LTV on your primary residence. The added benefit is that, the HELOC is tax deductible.
If you know the PA housing market well and it's working out for you, there's no reason to change it. Keep on investing there. The BAY is not for everyone. Cashflow pays the bills. Appreciation makes you rich. However, we need cashflow to get off the rat race. Fortunately, appreciation builds up your nest egg much faster. Like they say in tennis when it comes to hitting the ball.... There is no right way; there is no wrong way; there is always a better way.
@Moshe Gat, I'm glad that I put a smile on your face. Smiles are good for your health. As mentioned above, HEL or HELOC is tax deductible. It's my understanding that the interest rate on a HEL is fixed while it's adjustable on the HELOC. I have never had a HEL because the interest rate on it tends to be much higher than a HELOC. I like your strategy of using the HELOC to pay off the 2 Fannie Mae mortgages. Let me know if you encounter any hiccups in doing it, I'm more than happy to stumble along the way with you to come up with a solution. We get paid to solve problems so the more we know, the more we make. Well, hopefully that is true.