All Forum Posts by: Karen Margrave

My sister rents houses like that for a ministry she does for women in recovery. One of the benefits is that they each sign a seperate agreement, and if they don't comply with the program, their tenancy can be terminated without having to go through the normal process of eviction.

In other situations, in areas such as southern California, there are many homes rented by the week for vacation rentals, generating huge sums during vacation months.

Mark Hu It would seem to me that the APN lot number and the lot number in the legal description should match. The APN shows which book, and page the map is on, and then the lot#. However; if you need clairification, you can call the title company, ask for the "title plant", and someone in there will be happy to help you,or you can take your legal description down there, and they will look it up for you.

@JScott, and yes, if the work (labor and materials) is over $500, it doesn't matter if it is drywall, plumbing, carpentry, or a combination of all, in California you are required to have the appropriate license, or face fines.

@JScott I don't know what the licensing requirements for a handyman are, as I'm a licensed general contractor, which requires years of experience, passing the test, and paying all the fees involved.

In California they charge fees on EVERYTHING, and that's why they license handymen (though that might be more of a local thing) ! It's so ridiculous here that the unions were able to get it so that if someone is a licensed electrical contractor by trade, and wants to work for another electrical contractror (so they're both C-10 Contractors) the one working for the other has to have an ADDITIONAL CERTIFICATION, requiring educational classes and you know it.... Paying MORE fees the state for certification!

For all those that think socialism is a good idea... send them to California to try it out!!

Lily Chen, Actually as agents, (in California anyway) if you are in any way assoicated with the purchase of a property, and you know that there is a profit to be had by flipping property, etc., you must disclose to the seller (so it's not considered secret profit). HOWEVER; I have never dealt with a short sale, and DO NOT know the laws on them, hence my question to Monica. Since the property is in default, and there is no profit per se to be had by the seller, do you have to give them any disclosures?

@Will I'd be interested in reading what you're doing in your area, we are in Orange County, and I'm sure your ideas will work here too.

@JScott Every area is different on licensing, and I'm sure most are much more lenient than California. Here, if the amount being paid is over $500 (including labor and materials), then the contractor must be licensed. For smaller jobs, handyman type stuff it's not necessary.

@JonK We relocated to Orange County CA from an area that was highly dependent on the construction industry, and when the market crashed unemployment etc. skyrocketed to around 18%. We spent the first few years here learning the various markets, getting to know the building departments, which were best to work with etc., getting up to speed on property values, and looking for our niche. Our experience has been small commerical and SFR.

Lots here are extremely rare. However; one came on the market. We snatched it up. Our son did architectural renderings and I began advertising before even closing escrow to guage interest. We found a buyer right away, closed the land, and opened on the house sale.

If you live in an area where there aren't alot of foreclosures and market has stabilized, I'd personally be comfortable with building spec. However; only you know how well you know your market and business.

If we can find any other lots for sale, where the numbers work we'll build more spec homes. If not, we'll be moving into spec condo/office and selling to investors (we'll lease up if needed) or owner/users. (should anyone in Orange County have buyers/investors in that market, contact me!) The point I think is, work what you KNOW.

HIGHER RISK INVESTMENTS. Just as hard money lenders returns correlate to their investment risk, so do less aggressive investments. It all depends on what you are comfortable with. Basically we're all gamblers, some putting it all the line with spec houses and office buildings, etc., others playing it safer with less risky ventures.

If you're someone that wants to venture into the higher risk areas, you might want to get others that are like minded and willing to share the risk.

However; in addition to the potential to make big returns, there's the potential to lose big too. So, the question is, which type of investor are you?

Not sure if it makes a difference, but you might consider adding a middle initial to your name to avoid confusion, as we're both Karen M.