All Forum Posts by: Aaron Lawrence

Hey Dylan - I'm also in LA. I'm planning on going to check this new one out next wednesday https://www.meetup.com/real-estate-investor-networking-in-si...

Seen these guys around for a long time too https://lareic.com/events/

Hope to see you out there! 

I say renovating as well because you obviously have the experience, could potentially force appreciation, and you could be eligible for a tax exemption on capital gains when selling your primary residence. I believe you have to live in the property 2 out of the last 5 years... definitely talk to your CPA. It may sound contrary to your goal of building a portfolio of properties, but it's an option you could use to build enough capital to take it to the next level in a few years. 

this is a link to what I'm talking about : https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc701#:~:text=You're%20eligibl....

Also, Wale makes a great point about building landlord experience. Being a landlord in California is not necessarily like other places and in my opinion it'd be important to get that kind of specific experience.

Really great analysis AJ. 

You mentioned potential problems with redevelopment timelines resulting from the Costal Commission. I know Newsom / State Gov were talking in the immediate aftermath about pressuring the Costal Commission to waive many restrictions to expedite rebuilding. I haven't heard if that went anywhere or not - have you?

I had a full day of showings with a buyer once. 1st appointment of the day, the listing agent was 15minutes late. Called him - he clearly forgot about the showing. 

Showed up a full 25minutes late in sweats and said "Sorry, I was on a jog - I'm laaaazzzzy". 

I would have been pissed if it wasn't so funny. Luckily my client thought so too.

Could be that the sellers are still suspicious you have some ulterior motive or bias (not saying you do). 

Have you considered charging some small fee to both sides to further prove to the seller you're not in the business of taking advantage of them? If I were in the seller's shoes, it would be reasonable to think "no one works for free... what's this guy's angle" and then go out and hire my own agent.

Could be % or flat. The main idea is maybe you could head these inefficiencies off and proactively build trust by putting skin in the game by formalizing your relationships and position in the deal. 

One yellow flag for me would be if the agent immediately responded dual agency would be acceptable when you asked. That would mean the agent and the seller would have to have had that conversation already and pre-approved a dual-agency since both the buyer and the seller have to consent. Entirely possible they could have done that but better to ask and have the response in writing.

I'd also add it would be unethical for that agent to promote a deal they're double ending over others if it's truly not the best deal if there are other offers the listing agent will not double end. Not saying it doesn't happen, but in my opinion if it does, that may tell you something about who you're dealing with. I've heard of some real close calls in situations like that.

You'd have some leverage to negotiate the commission with a buyer's agent if you limit the agreement to this one property since they would only be facilitating this transaction and they wouldn't have an on-going obligation to finding you a property.

Really hard to say, I live and sell in a fire zone in Los Angeles and insurance has been a nightmare. No real clarity on what's going to happen beyond it becoming even more expensive.

I have heard from people I know near the fires (including one who's house is the only one left on his block in the Palisades and one in a similar situation in Altadena) that smoke damage was not covered by their fire insurance..

Hard to say what I'd do in your shoes since it sounds like it's more than a financial investment. One important question I'm sure you've asked yourself is are you comfortable with the risks if you lived there. As an investment, I think insurance cost escalation is a bad situation looking to get worse... 

Being in a Firewise community is great. Has that helped your insurance affordability?

Looking at a JV opportunity now in LA.

Huge piece of land in a suburban area - would be able to do 6 spec houses. My team would bring the plans, do the work, and handles sales. 

The property owner contributing the land as equity takes it from a good deal if everything goes right to a real no-brainer. From my analysis, it should net them more than they'd get from doing it any other way. A win-win if I've ever seen one. 

Should be presenting the opportunity soon so we'll see how it goes. Likely we'll be able to purchase in the future even if they aren't inclined to participate.

Agree with Scott. There is overlapping principles of course, but the different sectors of CRE will have their own unique traits. Analyzing and managing an industrial space will be different from retail, from multifamily, from office, etc.

Maybe even more fundamental - what role do you want? Are you an aspiring commercial landlord, CRE agent, PM, etc.?

Build on what you know already if you can. 

Chris & Leo bring up good points too. Start with finding out what it is you want to do by networking, then focus on how you can provide value and participate to find out if that's really what you want. 

Are there areas in your market that have comps that have densified? In other words taken SFR to 2-4plex or added an ADU?

Seems to me like considering a property where you could do an addition / add density OR flip would give you the opportunity to dip your toe in the water of new dev while giving you an emergency exit if you can't do what you had thought. 

If it were me, my max acquisition budget would be based on my worst case scenario - a flip. 

Best of luck!