Experienced Investor in SF Bay Area & Seattle

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Experienced Investor in SF Bay Area & Seattle

Shane Pearlman
Rental Property Investor · Las Palmas de Gran Canaria · Member since 2014 · 220 posts · 256 votes

Hi folks,

My wife and I have been investing since 2007 and currently own 10 doors. We are mostly buy and hold investors, although I have been through a couple 1031s in the past 12 months to reposition profits from the latest upswing. My family and I live in Capitola, CA (Santa Cruz County / San Francisco Bay Area) and started by investing locally, doing rehabs on forclosed SFRs. We managed the properties ourselves. Julie has a strategy which she calls "Renter Chic", which has converted to (mostly) strong, self-managed and stable tenants. We then acquired a couple duplexes, and then last year, did our first out-of-town deal buying a fourplex in Seattle. We are currently looking for an apartment building to acquire in Seattle.

We achieved our first real estate goal this year, as our properties throw off sufficient cashflow that my wife can comfortably stay home with our newborn son and older daughter. In addition to real estate investing, I have been a partner for the last 14 years in a software company (modern tribe: http://tri.be) which builds large scale websites and apps for fortune 500 companies / government institutions. My wife and I have both run multiple businesses.

We started in real estate as window shoppers. A buddy pointed out in 2001 that billionaires open up their homes for you to gawk at for free, if you can just read the open house schedule. We used to pack a bottle of wine, a picnic and go mansion sight seeing. It was huge fun.

As soon as our son gets old enough, we plan to move to a spanish speaking country and I'm seriously fascinated with the idea of acquiring a boutique B&B in front of a solid all around surf wave.

I joined as I'm looking for some good property leads, and some buddies to share war stories (and go surfing with if you happen to be local).

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Darren SagerPro Member
Investor · Tampa, FL · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
12y

Welcome to BP @Shane Pearlman  ! Thanks for taking the time to introduce yourself.  I think that's a great goal owning a boutique B&B!   And now that you're here we'd love to see you be an active member of the BP community so be sure to set up Keywords Alerts for your local area such as "Capitola" or "San Francisco" if you're looking to find potential opportunities for investing, education in a subject, or other members in your area.

Use the Find Members area to network with other members who are local to you or are in an area you're wanting to invest in. Podcasts come out weekly and are great way to learn on the move. I find there's always a gold nuggets of information in each one and I go back to listen to a number of them multiple times.

If you want to find events that are going on in your area be sure to check out the Real Estate Events and Happenings area of BiggerPockets. Here you can find meet ups of local BP members or other groups that get together, network, and have education about real estate investing. Some of these events they might try to sell you into a mentoring program or try to sell you something else. In most cases you'll find everything you need here on BP so don't spend any extra money elsewhere. There are many great members here on BP who are tremendous resources of information and will help you greatly. And there are some who are just here to try to sell you something so don't be naive to it. Their true intentions come out eventually.

Be sure to read through the rules of the forums here. How you'll get the most out of BiggerPockets is to understand how to navigate through it and understand that it's a two way street. You'll get out of it what you put into it so become active and help us grow the community and wealth of knowledge that's already here.

If you appreciate a post that a fellow member put up responding to you be sure to say "Thank You!" by casting a vote for it. If you're reading through the forums and a post or response is good or answers another member's question well then cast a vote for it. It's our own version of liking something on Facebook provided you're familiar with that. Simply click the box in the upper right corner of the post!

And lastly I highly recommend becoming a Plus or Pro member of the site and take advantage of all that BP has to offer you. It's like getting the keys to the kingdom. It will be one of the best investments you'll make when it comes your real estate investing.

Again welcome to Bigger Pockets!

862-208-2287Podcast Guest on Show #48
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  • Darren SagerPro Member
    Investor · Tampa, FL · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    12y

    Welcome to BP @Shane Pearlman  ! Thanks for taking the time to introduce yourself.  I think that's a great goal owning a boutique B&B!   And now that you're here we'd love to see you be an active member of the BP community so be sure to set up Keywords Alerts for your local area such as "Capitola" or "San Francisco" if you're looking to find potential opportunities for investing, education in a subject, or other members in your area.

    Use the Find Members area to network with other members who are local to you or are in an area you're wanting to invest in. Podcasts come out weekly and are great way to learn on the move. I find there's always a gold nuggets of information in each one and I go back to listen to a number of them multiple times.

    If you want to find events that are going on in your area be sure to check out the Real Estate Events and Happenings area of BiggerPockets. Here you can find meet ups of local BP members or other groups that get together, network, and have education about real estate investing. Some of these events they might try to sell you into a mentoring program or try to sell you something else. In most cases you'll find everything you need here on BP so don't spend any extra money elsewhere. There are many great members here on BP who are tremendous resources of information and will help you greatly. And there are some who are just here to try to sell you something so don't be naive to it. Their true intentions come out eventually.

    Be sure to read through the rules of the forums here. How you'll get the most out of BiggerPockets is to understand how to navigate through it and understand that it's a two way street. You'll get out of it what you put into it so become active and help us grow the community and wealth of knowledge that's already here.

    If you appreciate a post that a fellow member put up responding to you be sure to say "Thank You!" by casting a vote for it. If you're reading through the forums and a post or response is good or answers another member's question well then cast a vote for it. It's our own version of liking something on Facebook provided you're familiar with that. Simply click the box in the upper right corner of the post!

    And lastly I highly recommend becoming a Plus or Pro member of the site and take advantage of all that BP has to offer you. It's like getting the keys to the kingdom. It will be one of the best investments you'll make when it comes your real estate investing.

    Again welcome to Bigger Pockets!

    862-208-2287Podcast Guest on Show #48
    1Reply
  • Account Closed
    San Francisco, CA · Member since 2014 · 22 posts · 11 votes
    12y

    @messaging @Shane Pearlman I'm a surfer too (smallish waves though), very cool! I go surfing in Pleasure Point about once a month. Welcome to the community!

    0Reply
  • Zach Schwarzmiller
    Investor · Snohomish, WA · Member since 2013 · 629 posts · 84 votes
    12y

    Welcome to BP Shane. I loved reading, "We used to pack a bottle of wine, a picnic and go mansion sight seeing. It was huge fun." - that's awesome!

    0Reply
  • Shane Pearlman
    OP
    Rental Property Investor · Las Palmas de Gran Canaria · Member since 2014 · 220 posts · 256 votes
    12y

    Thank for the intro @Darren Sager 

    Right on @Alnie Figueroa - next time you are in town, lets hit the waves and I can tell you about my out of town investing forays (I've got some pretty comical adventures).

    When you come through on your way south next time @Zach Schwarzmiller make sure to hit Carmel highlands for the sunday open houses.

    0Reply
  • Orion Walker
    Investor · Ukiah, CA · Member since 2014 · 196 posts · 83 votes
    12y

    Hey @Shane Pearlman ,

    Fellow north coast surfer here, though I don't get out much these days. I too have the dream of a little beachfront vacation rental in the future. And like you, we are planning on heading out of country for a year or so before too long so the kids can learn another language and get a taste of another culture. Ours are 6 and 2.75. 

    Sounds like you are well on your way on the investing front. We bought a triplex  in Fort Bragg back in 2012 without knowing much (just wanted a place near the ocean), but now we are getting serious on our investing focus/strategy. My wife will be down to two days a week this year, so that should help. \

    Anyhow, good luck on the apartment hunting. I just took a pass on 8 doors in Alabama that looked great, but then not so great after a bit of digging. Let's meet up sometime if you come up this way or vice versa.

    Cheers

    1Reply
  • Shane Pearlman
    OP
    Rental Property Investor · Las Palmas de Gran Canaria · Member since 2014 · 220 posts · 256 votes
    12y

    @Orion Walker  Between the business, the kids (5.5 yrs & 3 mont), and the current 1031 I'm lucky to get into the water 3x a week (and I live a block from the waves). 

    What made you pick Alabama?

    Have you and the wife decided where you are going to do the year abroad? We have been eyeballing Puerto Rico since they passed the new tax laws last year (http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-06-26/pu...). We spent march in Barbados and loved it, but want somewhere where spanish is the primary language.

    0Reply
  • Orion Walker
    Investor · Ukiah, CA · Member since 2014 · 196 posts · 83 votes
    12y

    The Alabama thing just came up randomly from an investor friend who found it on Craigslist and was interested in partnering. The place was a little under two hours from Atlanta, so I figured that might be a good market, but that particular one, not so much. 

    Yeah, I heard about that tax situation in Puerto Rico (on The Real Estate Guys podcast I think). Sounds like a cool opportunity though I'm still pretty small fry in terms of tax liability (on my list of things to do this year is get more tax savvy and connect with a good tax consultant, let me know if you have any recommendations). We have a couple friends from Puerto Rico, so I'll be chatting with them about that idea. 

    In terms of other places, we had been eying Panama. Chile also has some interesting programs to support entrepreneurs. We have a trip planned to Costa Rica next March for a friend's wedding... So Latin America is certainly on our short list. And improving my Spanish and having the kids learn Spanish would make a lot of sense. Other potentials would be India (I've been there a few times and want to go with the family at some point). I'm also curious to see China... I guess at some point here we'll need to narrow things down and get serious about a plan.

    0Reply
  • Orion Walker
    Investor · Ukiah, CA · Member since 2014 · 196 posts · 83 votes
    12y

    Nice website by the way. 

    0Reply
  • Dmitriy Fomichenko
    Solo 401k Expert · Anaheim Hills, CA · Member since 2012 · 18k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    12y

    Welcome to BP community @Shane Pearlman  It is a great place to meet new friends and learn about various aspects of real estate and more. 

    Wishing you the best! 

    0Reply
  • Christopher Hunter
    Real Estate Investor · Cypress, CA · Member since 2013 · 877 posts · 94 votes
    12y

    @Shane Pearlman Welcome to BiggerPockets Shane.

    0Reply
  • J. MartinPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Oakland, CA · Member since 2011 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    12y

    @Shane Pearlman ,

    Welcome! I invest up in the East Bay, and have 7 doors up here. Not quite ready to retire and move to Mexico/SA yet, but congrats to you! Personally, I don't plan on ever selling anything to move my cash somewhere else. The rising rents and prices around here are killing it..

    There are some great investors around here, and @Johnson H. and @Jay Y. are having a meetup down in San Jose at Whispers Café at 7PM tonight if you can make it up. I'll be down there. Great way to meet some other folks and see what everyone is up to..! Welcome again Shane!

    0Reply
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