Real Estate Agent · Pasadena, CA · Member since 2016 · 17 posts · 5 votes
Hello all! I just found out about this site from my Title Representative and it’s great to see so many people fired up about investing in real estate!
I am a Realtor in Pasadena, CA, have been in the real estate sales since 1993 and was a Real Estate Appraiser prior (from 1988-1993). I do handle some residential sales, however, the focus of my career has been commercial / industrial and multifamily properties sales. While I am based in Southern California, I have, and continue to, represent my clients with selling or purchasing investment property all over the country. I personally have invested in multifamily properties in the Los Angeles, CA area and the Hot Springs, AR area. If I can be of any help to you (analyzing cash flow, looking at a particular market), let me know…I am happy to help.
Real Estate Agent · Pasadena, CA · Member since 2016 · 17 posts · 5 votes
10y
Hi Jeet,
I haven’t done anything in the Palmdale / Lancaster area for probably about 15 years, and back then I represented a buyer or seller in a deal…I can’t remember which it was.
I see you’re in Bakersfield. My grandparents lived in Fresno (my grandfather was a cotton broker) and being that I grew up in the Pasadena area, Bakersfield was about ½ way so we would always stop there for lunch or dinner and get gas. I think we would get off the freeway at Ming (that name rings a bell) grab some Mc. Donald’s, fill up my mom’s Caddy and we were back on the 99.
The Bakersfield market, the last time I looked, seemed to be doing pretty good. Are there any deals there in town you can get your hands on?
Real Estate Broker · Portland, OR · Member since 2016 · 97 posts · 90 votes
10y
@John Duguid welcome to bigger pockets (i just got here practically myself). do you have any rental properties yet? If so, anywhere in the greater Los Angeles or within 2-3 hours away? Sizing up where I might make my second purchase after I buy an owner occupied duplex. Looking either just outside of Los Angeles, maybe as far as bakersfield, or perhaps out of state. If you are familiar with any markets that have 10% or higher cap rates or cash flow $300+ per unit, let me know.
Real Estate Agent · Pasadena, CA · Member since 2016 · 17 posts · 5 votes
10y
@Melissa Dorman: Thank you for the welcome! The only multifamily building I have listed right now is a 148 unit complex located in Hot Springs, AR (however it is at a 10.47% cap rate at the asking price). What states would you consider? I may have some suggestions for you.
Real Estate Broker · Portland, OR · Member since 2016 · 97 posts · 90 votes
10y
@John Duguid I'm pretty open. I have some family in Rockford, Illinois and Paris, Tennessee but not sure those markets are strong enough in terms of economy and renters. Still working on my first owner occupied in Los Angeles. Just doing preliminary market research at this time as I plan to buy that property next year, in the spring.
Home Stager · San Luis Obispo, CA · Member since 2016 · 312 posts · 49 votes
10y
hi john, welcome! newbie here too. just wished to introduce myself. formerly from washington, dc, i'm just getting started in the staging arena in california and i'm looking to make some connections as well. thanks and sincerely, sydney
Investor · Orange County, CA · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
10y
Welcome aboard Capt'n Duguid! :)
I have to think that it sure is a darn good time to be a commercial agent in Pasadena ... man this market is crazy ... crazy good for you as an agent and crazy good for me as a seller, not so much for the buyers.
If you don't mind me asking, what made you decide to switch from resi agent to commercial, and what do you like and not like comparing the two? Are you glad you started resi and later transitioned to commercial, or if you had to do it again would you go commercial from the start? I ask because I am considering starting as an agent (resi or commercial, not sure). Sorry to bombard you with questions on your first post, and we can take the conversation offline if you like, but figured others may be curious as well ...
When I started selling back in 1993, my first sales position was with a small Prudential office in South Pasadena that did a lot of property management (mostly apartment buildings). As a result, we would also work on pulling in property management business. Over time, I built up relationships with these building owners and many of them either wanted more investment property, wanted to sell the properties they had and cash out or they wanted to move up to larger properties. As time marched on and CA prices skyrocketed (late 90’s early 00s’), my clients were sitting on tons of equity in their investment properties. At this time many of them wanted to either pull the equity out to invest in more property, or they wanted to sell, do a 1031 exchange and purchase larger projects. Being that CA prices were so high (thus the cash flow on new purchases would be low), I started representing my clients in purchasing properties outside of California where the cash flow was much more attractive. Multifamily sales kind of got me known as the “commercial guy”, and so the commercial / industrial business started coming in. So, to put it in a nutshell, I had every intention of being a residential realtor when I started in this business, but I kind of fell into the multifamily / commercial side.
As far as which side of the business (residential or commercial) I like better, I would have to say commercial. While I like them both, commercial / multifamily sales is all numbers, there really is not much emotion involved like there is in residential real estate sales...either the numbers work or they don’t.
I'm in Huntington Beach, but have investments in LA county. Just now closing escrow selling my old bachelor pad in Glendale. Still have some better cash flowing stuff in the Antelope Valley that I'm holding. All SFR, no multis as of yet and not anytime soon as the market is too crazy for a 1st acquisition. It is those investments in LA that got me to the beach in OC. SoCal RE has been very, very good to me. Chasing cash flow out of state, not so much. Do you have some investment property, looking to get in, or focused strictly on sales?
Locate and attend 3 different local REIA club meetings great place to meet people gather resources and info. Here you will meet wholesalers who provide deals and rehabbers (cash buyers). Find them through Google and meetup.com
Download BP’s newest book here some good due diligence in Chapter 10. Real Estate Rewind Starting over
What I did was buy run-down apartment buildings, fix them up, stabilize the occupancy and then sell them. My last two buildings were in Hot Springs Arkansas…a 148 unit complex and a six unit building. The problem with this was the traveling, lots of traveling, and I had small kids, two sons and a daughter (my daughter is currently 14 and my boys are 9 and 6). My wife is a corporate mucky-muck with a Trust Company and not only was me being gone so much a strain on her, but I wanted to be here for my kid’s baseball games, soccer game, volleyball tournaments etc., so I jumped out in 2012. I’ll get back in the game when my kids are a little older, until then I am happy working with people that are building up their real estate empires!
We get down your way quite a bit, my folk's have a house on Balboa Island that they bought back in the 80's.
Professional · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2016 · 45 posts · 8 votes
10y
Hi @John Duguid Welcome to BP! I may have misread somewhere but it sounds like you're not as active in the LA area. What kind of deals/areas do you work with?
Escrow Officer · Temecula, Ca. · Member since 2016 · 418 posts · 152 votes
10y
Welcome! If you ever need an Escrow Officer point of view on how to pull a deal together, let me know! I have investors everywhere and handle the whole state! :)
No, I don't do much business in the City of Los Angeles, never have. My commercial business tends to take me east (eastern San Gabriel Valley, Inland Empire) and my residential business tends to be in Pasadena and around the Pasadena area. Are you active mostly in Los Angeles?