New here in Bigger Pockets! Looking for my 1st ever property!
New to Real Estate · Chino Hills CA · Member since 2019 · 95 posts · 24 votes
Hello! My name is Jean, 30yrs old, currently as an Registered Nurse in LA! Currently i live in the Chino Hills CA.
Here to learn how to purchase my 1st ever investment property in WestCovina Chino Hills Area. Goal is to acquire one beginning of next year! I'm looking into a single family home that i can house-hack, then planning to do the BRRRR strategy on it.
So, it would have to be a house that is under-market value, but since i'm new to the field, probably just cosmetic fixes and minor renovations would be ideal!!
Been listening to a lot of podcasts and reading books, learning as much as i can, but i figured i need to really step out of my confort-zone and start doing something now!
So i'm here looking to connect with anyone near my area in the real estate investing field! So if anyone is near the LosAngeles/Chino/WestCovina/Anaheim/Ontario area, let's connect!
Thank you and have a great day everyone!
Much excitement,
Jean :)
Hello! My name is Jean, 30yrs old, currently as an Registered Nurse in LA! Currently i live in the Chino Hills CA.
Here to learn how to purchase my 1st ever investment property in WestCovina Chino Hills Area. Goal is to acquire one beginning of next year! I'm looking into a single family home that i can house-hack, then planning to do the BRRRR strategy on it.
So, it would have to be a house that is under-market value, but since i'm new to the field, probably just cosmetic fixes and minor renovations would be ideal!!
Been listening to a lot of podcasts and reading books, learning as much as i can, but i figured i need to really step out of my confort-zone and start doing something now!
So i'm here looking to connect with anyone near my area in the real estate investing field! So if anyone is near the LosAngeles/Chino/WestCovina/Anaheim/Ontario area, let's connect!
Thank you and have a great day everyone!
Much excitement,
Jean :)
Hi Jean, welcome to BP! I'm from New York. You decided to get in to real estate at the right time as the economy is shutting down and there is uncertainty in the market. There are plenty of posts about the BRR strategy and the real estate transaction process. Check out the local forum posts and find your area. It's the easiest way to find people in your area. IMO. Also, feel free to reach out to me if you have questions, I'll do my best to help.
Hey @Jean Santiago,
I have been to Jacksonville several times but I have yet to narrow down any specific neighborhoods. My parents live in Ponte Vedra Beach which is a bit out of my current price range. Have you been able to narrow the search down at all?
To answer your question, I have had the Chicago place for about a year and a half at this point. It was a great place in a popular neighborhood and then I had to move back to California so I just kept it there and I am currently renting out here.
An ADU is accessory dwelling unit, think a granny flat, in-law suite, guest house, etc. I had always wanted a small multifamily but there weren't many in my price range when I was looking in LA in 2009. So I came out here since my sister was in Diamond Bar. I was still looking for a a possible multi to househack (didn't know that term back them) but CH isn't really zoned for what I had in mind. But I lucked into this home with a permitted garage apartment conversion (separate entry, only shared space is the laundry room). So I rented that out for most of the last 10 years. I lucked into two great tennants too, but next time I will try to use a property management company to run the various checks. There are some legal considerations if you're a homeowner trying to run credit checks on roommates or tenants. Maybe that's an easier obstacle to navigate now than it was 10 years ago when I was looking into it.
The tax benefits including writing off half of all utilities, maintenance like gardener, plumbing services, HVAC servicing, anything that affects the rental side I can write off. When it's empty, that's like a business loss.
If and when this pandemic simmers down and I feel comfortable attending cons, I *think* I can write off the BP conference. I'll have to check with my tax advisor but I believe that is the case. I'm sure there are a lot of other strategies I'm not remembering or aware of but my tax advisor always reminds me that if I didn't have the rental I would have a much higher tax burden.
Overall I recommend it to people. It's *almost* free money.
An ADU is accessory dwelling unit, think a granny flat, in-law suite, guest house, etc. I had always wanted a small multifamily but there weren't many in my price range when I was looking in LA in 2009. So I came out here since my sister was in Diamond Bar. I was still looking for a a possible multi to househack (didn't know that term back them) but CH isn't really zoned for what I had in mind. But I lucked into this home with a permitted garage apartment conversion (separate entry, only shared space is the laundry room). So I rented that out for most of the last 10 years. I lucked into two great tennants too, but next time I will try to use a property management company to run the various checks. There are some legal considerations if you're a homeowner trying to run credit checks on roommates or tenants. Maybe that's an easier obstacle to navigate now than it was 10 years ago when I was looking into it.
The tax benefits including writing off half of all utilities, maintenance like gardener, plumbing services, HVAC servicing, anything that affects the rental side I can write off. When it's empty, that's like a business loss.
If and when this pandemic simmers down and I feel comfortable attending cons, I *think* I can write off the BP conference. I'll have to check with my tax advisor but I believe that is the case. I'm sure there are a lot of other strategies I'm not remembering or aware of but my tax advisor always reminds me that if I didn't have the rental I would have a much higher tax burden.
Overall I recommend it to people. It's *almost* free money.
Wow this was very informative! Thank you much! And for the tax information too is very informative. I always scratch my head during tax season because, and im sure you can agree to this lol, the amount of tax taken out is just riduculous!! For me because---i am not married and have no kids yet, and i don't have any properties yet (and i always do overtime), so i'm really interested in how i can leverage the tax stuff with owning a property!
Also, at this point in my life, i would me much comfortable not living with other people, but of course i think to start off, i would have to househack the first property to get ahead.
I'm actually scoping out to see properties that have ADU (thank for explaining the term, this is actually what im looking for in a property, i just didnt know the term for it!). My other plan would be to actually LIVE in that ADU unit, then rent out the actual house, this way i'm sorta seperated from the tenants, and still kinda househacking it. The problem is lile you said, there aren't many properties properties for sale that already has an ADU unit.
Actually, in Chino Hills/West covina/Covina/DB area (and other vicinities), i havn't seen a house for sale with an ADU unit that within the $550k price range i'm looking for.
What do you think? :)
Hey @Jean Santiago,
I have been to Jacksonville several times but I have yet to narrow down any specific neighborhoods. My parents live in Ponte Vedra Beach which is a bit out of my current price range. Have you been able to narrow the search down at all?
To answer your question, I have had the Chicago place for about a year and a half at this point. It was a great place in a popular neighborhood and then I had to move back to California so I just kept it there and I am currently renting out here.
I've only been in the area where my did live, which is somewhere near the 90 and 295 fwy neae Beach blvd. (So only about 20mins drive to jacksonville beach) The neighbor hood like nice and quiet, from my search so far, i saw properties in that area that are 3/2 and even 4/2 that are under $150k, but you can tell from the pictures that they need updating, also, the outside stucture (from pictures) look good, and most are sitting on large areas of land, big front and backyards which i think is really awesome.
So far im deciding betweek buying a property here in socal, or buy a property in Jacksonville first (since prices are a lot lower and manageable! Lols)
What do you think? :)
Welcome to Florida investing, @Jean Santiago. Im in Miami, but I invest in central Florida. I'll be watching this thread to see what you come up with in the Jacksonville area.
Hello!! Thank you for the welcome!
So far, if you reas my reply post on Aaron Weiler, that's what i have seen so far with just a little bit of research and going on realtor.com to check the pricings of properties! :)
Where of central florida do you invest in, if you don't mind sharing :)
@Jean Santiago
Hi Jean, We appreciate you and all the nurses!
Your parents may be my neighbors. Let me know if you need me to check on them or any of their friends. I have extra TP :)
Good luck & Welcome to BP!
@Jean Santiago
Hi Jean, We appreciate you and all the nurses!
Your parents may be my neighbors. Let me know if you need me to check on them or any of their friends. I have extra TP :)
Good luck & Welcome to BP!
Awww thank you so much, that is very kind of you!! I saw on your profile that you also have a property in Jacksonville! And congrats on your achievements and your portfolio. You are exactly where i want to be!
I am also currently studying to take my Real Estate License, but i'm not really that interested to work with customers also (Though selling a house here and there would help) But i eventually want to use it for when i buy my own properties in the future, exactly like how you are doing it!
Also, at this point in my life, i would me much comfortable not living with other people, but of course i think to start off, i would have to househack the first property to get ahead.
I'm actually scoping out to see properties that have ADU (thank for explaining the term, this is actually what im looking for in a property, i just didnt know the term for it!). My other plan would be to actually LIVE in that ADU unit, then rent out the actual house, this way i'm sorta seperated from the tenants, and still kinda househacking it. The problem is lile you said, there aren't many properties properties for sale that already has an ADU unit.
Actually, in Chino Hills/West covina/Covina/DB area (and other vicinities), i havn't seen a house for sale with an ADU unit that within the $550k price range i'm looking for.
What do you think? :)
You might be able to find one in those areas in the coming months. Look for all those key terms. The other thing you might look out for is a garage that can be converted. It already has the foundation. I've seen that new build ADUs can run about $100,000. The laws for ADUs in CA relaxed this year because of the housing shortage. Some cities had been doing everything they could to make it impossible to build ADUs, including Chino Hills. Honestly though the easiest thing would be to just look for one already in place. They might not be permitted, so you'd have to find an expert in the city to let you know if it they're so out of compliance as to make it not worth it. I don't know all the legalities about renting an unpermitted ADU but I would think it's not a good idea.
I would love to buy a small multi in SoCal, but I'm don't know if there will be any that'll cash-flow. All the ones I've been looking at on the MLS are negative monthly cash-flow to the thousands. I'm like "WHO is buying these and making them work?!?" So that's why I was thinking of going the out of state turn-key route.
Hi Jean. Welcome to our BiggerPockets community!
We are excited to help you learn more of RE investment. In addition to what you have started reading and listening, here are some recommendations I can give you:
1. Subscribe to the BiggerPockets Money and Rookie Podcasts
2. Attend the FREE WEBINARS
3. Attend a Meetup in Your Area
4. Purchase the Beginner Books: How to Invest in Real Estate, Set for Life, The House Hacking Strategy
5. Peruse the forums! Ask questions! Answer Questions!
Just be consistent and get help from the experts in the industry. Learning this over the next 4-6 months, you’ll get more extra $ earning in NO TIME!
Best regards,
Craig Curelop
Welcome to Florida investing, @Jean Santiago. Im in Miami, but I invest in central Florida. I'll be watching this thread to see what you come up with in the Jacksonville area.
Hello!! Thank you for the welcome!
So far, if you reas my reply post on Aaron Weiler, that's what i have seen so far with just a little bit of research and going on realtor.com to check the pricings of properties! :)
Where of central florida do you invest in, if you don't mind sharing :)
I invest in Brevard County, Florida. (Melbourne, Palm Bay areas). You can still get some value there, unlike South Florida.
@Jean Santiago Jacksonville is a great place to invest! You know it's good when you are in a similar situation to David Greene. He also lives in Cali, but has multiple rentals in the area.
Would love to speak further about the neighborhoods. I work with a few partners in the area, and we come across deals that we assign to other investors when it's not our specific criteria, but we know it's still a good deal for other investors who have different goals than ourselves. Shoot me a message and we can set up a time to talk more and get deals in front of you, to at least start seeing what's available. If nothing else, it'll help hone you in on neighborhoods and figure out exactly where you want to be.
@Jean Santiago Jacksonville is a great place to invest! You know it's good when you are in a similar situation to David Greene. He also lives in Cali, but has multiple rentals in the area.
Would love to speak further about the neighborhoods. I work with a few partners in the area, and we come across deals that we assign to other investors when it's not our specific criteria, but we know it's still a good deal for other investors who have different goals than ourselves. Shoot me a message and we can set up a time to talk more and get deals in front of you, to at least start seeing what's available. If nothing else, it'll help hone you in on neighborhoods and figure out exactly where you want to be.
Yes, i've heaed David on the podcasts mention that he alao invests in Florida! It's just a little scary to invest OOS, but i know with more knowledge, i shouldn't doubt that it's a great city to invest in.
I've actually been to Jacksonville a couple of times, i'm just not familiar with the neighborhoods in the area, so yes, i'd like to talk more about what's out there!
-Jean S.
We should start a Meet-up for us here in our area! I'm in Chino Hills! So we can compare and share notes on what we find in our area, maybe we can attract wholesalers to our meet-up too and work together!
Hi Jean. Welcome to our BiggerPockets community!
We are excited to help you learn more of RE investment. In addition to what you have started reading and listening, here are some recommendations I can give you:
1. Subscribe to the BiggerPockets Money and Rookie Podcasts
2. Attend the FREE WEBINARS
3. Attend a Meetup in Your Area
4. Purchase the Beginner Books: How to Invest in Real Estate, Set for Life, The House Hacking Strategy
5. Peruse the forums! Ask questions! Answer Questions!
Just be consistent and get help from the experts in the industry. Learning this over the next 4-6 months, you’ll get more extra $ earning in NO TIME!
Best regards,
Craig Curelop
Hello Craig! Thanks for the welcome!
Already listerning to the OG Podcast and the Newbie podcast, learning a ton!