All Forum Posts by: Brian C.

@Shane Pearlman Great info..thanks!

If by short term you mean vacation rentals..yes thats legal but there are regulations and an 'occupancy tax' Im prretty sure. I dont do that personally, but check on SC tax collectors page.

Good luck

Hi Jonathan

Ive found the situation dictates the strategy usually. It depends what you run into. I guess Id say learn all you can so when you see opportunity, you'll recognize it and be able to formulate a plan accordingly. Its about solving problems for other people, and doing it creatively.

@Stephanie Medellin

Thanks for your comment and yes Ive looked into those..but they seem extremely costly, and a bit confusing, even the 'new and improved' versions

 @Chris Mason Thanks so much for your reply! No,,it wouldnt be me doing the co-borrowing and good info on that 125% retirement income! Im hoping they have a friend or relative who's past worrying about lender DTI ratio's, but good point! Luckily the wife is a former Cisco employee who tech literate so Im ok there :)

My friends are retired and no longer have steady reported income but they do have a free and clear 900k house in California and perfect credit. In trying to help them get a cash out refi I was thinking of suggesting a non-resident co-borrower to help them qualify for the loan. Any issues to look out for? Would they need to be family related only?

Thanks in advance

During the last RE downturn I noticed values inland in Santa Cruz-Monterey Co fell in value quite a bit further than the higher priced coastal areas on a percentage basis. That being said..I really like the Moss Landing/Prunedale area and think its a pretty good value overall..although I DID sell my property on Elkhorn Slough during that time. Also..the race track is dead..and the proposed de-sal idea is uncertain..so I wouldnt invest based on that. 

The rules for commercial grows wont be finalized until 2017-18 I think? Also agree that there are political uncertainties at this point. Either way...you'll need the right zoning. Heres a link to santa cruz co. zoning map.

http://gis.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/map_gallery/pdfs/Map%20Gallery/Land%20Use%20and%20General%20Plan/Map2_Zoning.pdf

Im guessing your looking at that Branciforte dr property? I do have a copy of the septic inspection,,its not the tank, its the leach field. You'd need an alternate system as its near a riparian corridor (creek). And yes..every investor in Santa Cruz has passed on it so far, but its a decent price I think. As a first investment? You could run into trouble. Also who's gonna loan on this? Hard money maybe but thats about it. 

Raw land is harder to sell than houses usually..its a smaller pool of buyers. To estimate the harvestable timber you'd use a registered forester to estimate board feet,,but they need to make a timber harvest plan as some areas are hard to access. It used to be you'd 'take a tree..leave a tree' in Santa Cruz County..not sure but I expect its that way still.

Good luck