All Forum Posts by: Ciprian L.

@John Ritter Welcome to BP!

@Donna Arrogante I purchased a duplex in Burbank with an FHA loan 2 years ago. If you want the information of my lender send me a PM.

House hack was the best decision I made, I would suggest to buy something that needs some work done so you can improve the property and refinance in 1 year to a conventional loan to get rid of the mortgage insurance.

Good luck!

That is what I did 2 years ago with a duplex in Burbank. I'm looking for another deal to continue the strategy.

Good luck!

@Hannah Diment Welcome to BP!

You could find properties that meet the 2% rule, out of state in bad areas that have price ranges from 30-50k. I don't think that you can find a single family residence for 200k that will rent for $4k anywhere in the US.

Yes, multi family units are a betters strategy in LA area.

@David Eiges

Are you renting right now? What is your price range? What is your long term plan?

I would talk to a lender first to see how much you can afford for a multi unit property.

You don't want to buy while prices are high, high comparative to what? I'm sure 20-30 years ago people where thinking the prices were high. 

If you plan to buy and sell in 3-5 years, I would not buy, but if you plan to keep them for 20-30 years I'm sure the values will be much higher by then.

It's a seller market and deals are hard to find but not impossible. 

The price is not the only variable in the investing world, there are the terms also, how much will your monthly payments  be if you buy a property for $700k at 4% or $500k at 7%?

@Erin W. Welcome to BP!

I would recommend a house hacking strategy. 

First decide where you want to live and then look for an opportunity to house hack in that area, it can be a condo and rent rooms, SFR or Duplex. Depends of what you can afford in that area.

Also talked to a lender and see how much you can afford to buy, get pre approved.

@Sean Durham Welcome to BP!

@Mario F.

I purchased mine with and FHA 3.5% down in Burbank. I can help you find one if you decide to invest locally, I'm also an agent.

@Mario F. You have to make a decision, the one that is best for you.

The prices in LA are high, the only option that I see right now here is buying a 2-4 plex and live in one unit if you are currently renting, it might make sens.

I started out of state and I switched to 2-4 plex locally around 2 years ago.

If you are after out of state properties, you will need a good team out of state and at least a few properties. If you have 2-3 properties and 1 vacant, that is 33 to 50% of your portfolio. Most of the time the numbers look much better on the paper than in reality, at least from my experience.

Good luck!