All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Hey, @Chris Mason! The triplex is doing well. We are coming to the end of our one-year owner-occupancy requirement. Will be looking to get another multi-family this year.

@Maria Silva You should connect with a good lender who's not going to give you BS "overlay" rules. We were having conversations with three other lenders until we found Chris Mason. We're sticking with him :)

@Joshua A. You should go network with a local REI club. Based on the last meetup's discussion, construction-related experience is a big plus on the island. Their next meetup is this Thursday coming up. You'll meet some fantastic folks. Big shoutout to @Christian Cramer for organizing these!

@Kyandrea Fowlkes Go for it!

@Carson Wilcox I stuck with light stuff for diy: plugs, switches, covers, tiling a backsplash, putting in new bathroom fixtures, replacing doors, door knobs, smoke detectors, etc. I live in the unit above the one we were fixing up, so it was also quick for me to get to the place, but the project still eats up a lot of your time.

I hired out bath and sinks reglazing, all major painting, water heater installation, putting up a fence, window replacement, among other stuff.

If you have the time, then do it. Plus, I found that contractors didn't pay as much attention to detail as I would have liked them to.
Good luck!

@Steve Franks Great story, Steve! Working on houses yourself definitely boosts your confidence level while bringing in higher rents.

If I were you, I would definitely renovate Side B and bring the rents up to market.

Glad you got rid of the sh*tty handyman :P

@Carlos Caloca I'd call first. This way you can assess their attitude and motivation to sell without being up in their face. I've called owners before and I'm glad I didn't go knocking on their doors. Nothing horrible, it was just a quick "No, we're not interested" kind of a thing, so it would have been a waste of time to drive up to their houses.

@Heather R. Welcome to BP!

1) Finding a great, knowledgeable lender. Big shout out to @Chris Mason for all of your help!

2) You do not need a commercial lender (assuming you're buying a building with under 5 units). You should get pre-approved first. This way you know what you can and cannot afford and don't waste your time looking at properties that are out of your reach. For this part you do not need to have a deal in hand.

When we were putting in offers, we would get a pre-approval letter that was tailored to that offer.


Are you planning on house hacking?

@Account Closed You do not need to be licensed to wholesale

@Tracy P. Welcome to BP!
Congratulations on getting through all of the red tape and building your home. Perseverance will come in handy on your journey.

You should come to this meetup in Berkeley and get to know the local investors in person.

@Michael Hajduk Sounds like an interesting idea. Let me know if you need design help ;)