All Forum Posts by: Alice K.

Odie Ayaga - Good to know! As far as conventional loans, would you recommend an LLC? I've had them before and dealt with all that but am on the fence if it even matters. Only reason was privacy, but even then, a simple search can dig up names. (Being the creepy stalker I am. Haha)

I was in this situation just last month. Seller didn't want to budge. I was more motivated than the seller for a mere investment property; which isn't a good place to be. As was mentioned, seller may not be motivated enough, or not really get that their property isn't worth it... You could ask a ton of questions and just listen to see their timelines / if they are motivated. You could also give them 2 offers-- each with appraisal contingencies and say "I can pay via a loan but the appraisal has to match" if the thing is truly high, you can gamble (it if it's not off the wall price-wise.) Second offer could be: "I need you to hold the note." I would only do this if the numbers can somewhat pencil out at the asking price. At the numbers your seller is stating, I'd just leave my number and come back later / let them sell to another who is panic buying.

Here's what I've seen from RE meetups-- If just for networking events: Side 1: contact info & some title Side 2: wants & haves Eg: "seeking fixer uppers!" Or "Hard money fast, great deals" If it's for things outside of networking events too: I'd put something like Side 1: contact info & some title Side 2: "Fix & flipper" "Investor / flipper"

Congrats!!!! Maybe this was answered already but how did you find the cosigner?! I assume by hustling the neighborhood :)) Love the chutzpah!

@Jesse Goldberg - I forgot I named it that! (haha) The “dichotomy” and struggle are real. 

Realized you are a lender-- I was reading Paragon trend reports for 2017— we’re in somewhat of a plateau in SF. (No longer 40 offers for one property as it was 4 years ago). Do you think we’ll be seeing a slight dip in 2018?

@Dylan Vargas - YOU KNOW. For all intensive purposes, I just imagine it’s rage in the doors of the home owners.

The "highlight" is my landlord’s girlfriend situation. They don’t know that they aren’t the only one. It’s better than going to see a movie.

@Jay Hinrichs - That’s so great your daughter / son in law have their own business in LV! And, that they were at least smart enough to do 10k sq ft > don’t have bugatti veyrons. Smarter than my friend circle.

@Diane G. - Thanks for the share. Esp the salaries-- that resonates with me. Took me many years to even get close to where the “boys in tech” were. Even still I’m lagging a bit behind.

Did you do the condo with a <20% down? I'm one of those overly-cautious people when it comes to condos and PMI. But, maybe I'm just a prude. Estimates are that appreciation for 2017 will just be 1 - 2% on Zillow which historically has been pretty accurate so I might not be able to refi until much later. All that aside, congrats! So wonderful you have those!

@Manolo D. - Prop 13: Damn, how I want to put myself up to my eyeballs in debt to take advantage of that.

@Greg Hamer - Laughed @ ramen - my galfriend who lives in an apt and pays 70% of her income on rent is a big fan of ramen. We were sharing notes the other week. 
Carmel is so gorgeous, I do wish you the best for a future flip in that area! Fantastic you have a place that's gone up, completely believe it's appreciated 100k.

@Cody L. -  Someday, I dream of being a cougar with a story like that. I’ll never wear makeup ever again. haha

Also, do you have any gold pro-tips he's ever shared with you / how he did his first deal? 

Originally posted by @Chris Mason:

How can 43% HTI (housing to income, which is DTI minus other consumer debt) be the average? That implies that half are above 43% HTI, half are below 43% HTI, but 43% DTI is the cutoff for the overwhelming bulk of jumbo loans, so it's odd to think that half are over that in the Bay Area. And this is pretending that car loans and student loans do not exist (DTI is generally higher than HTI). I'd wonder how they are doing their math in that chart.

@Account Closed it just funded stop blowing up my phone. :P

 Good point, I bet they did just take the average or something. Probably weighted heavily towards those who had to take out 10% loans that probably shouldn't really be buying to begin with?

The rent-income % number as a few believe, is also 43% in this Q1 report so they're probably taking just looking at those paying for high priced rentals as well. 

I was thinking this was helpful sheerly for my sanity.

Was great hearing I'm not the only one out there thinking this!

Every day I interact with people making the same amount as myself and boy oh boy..

They have a posh car / live in the center of the universe in 2.5 - 4k apartments / go on fancy trips. Friend just spent $13,000 worth of points on a first-class flight to Asia.

Meanwhile, I'm blowing thousands on a basement and furnace. I figure "even though this isn't the best ROI it must be better than a 13k flight to asia?!"

@Account Closed "Houses are just labor camps we sleep in." <-- I need to print your words of wisdom. LoL

Every single time I'm in any grocery store, walking the street, or anywhere in a posh neighborhood, esp. the Bay Area, I think: 

* "Golly, gosh, gee, how do these people afford these wonderful homes?"
* "What do I have to do in my career to make enough to buy this?"
* "Is it even worth it suffer in a room packed like a sardine in order to invest?"

Then, I came across this little chart on Zillow from Q1 2017:

I highly respect all self-made folks who can afford what they get, but it was really helpful reminder for me. 

Many times, one can think someone else is doing great; but perhaps they think the same about you.

Was wondering if thoughts like this have ever entered anyone else's mind?

Cheers,

Alice