All Forum Posts by: Eric Dowling

@Elice Hennessee have you looked into the FHA 203k loan? Could be a good option for house hacking. I'm not sure how much luck you will have at auctions, They usually are not recommended for first time investors.

@Alma Mills I noticed my credit union doing HELOCs for investment properties, I beleive 70 or 75 I can't remember. It is Wescom Credit Union.

@Ash Pate the good news is everything is renting well. There is a market for both and everything has very low vacancy. To say one rents better than the other is negligible.

Ash Pate Also in your research of condos in those areas make sure you factor in HOA's, they can be anywhere from $300/month to $3000/month. $1000+ is pretty typical which is pretty shocking to people not familiar with the area.

Ash Pate It is true that it is very hard to cash flow in Los Angeles. It usually has to be a fixer value add situation and not always in the area you want to live. If you are going to live in the property a year you can work rent growth into your equation to find something that cash flows (see speculation), but you should have other exit strategies as well. If you buy a fixer you can force equity right away giving you an out if you do need to sell. The problem you can get into by speculating is if you buy say a turn key now, then relocate when the market dips, now rent doesn't cover mortgage and you need to sell fast. All of a sudden your writing a check at the closing table. Buy right and make sure you have exit strategies to avoid this. With your budget you could get into a house in some of the areas you mentioned. Unless you personally prefer condos, I would avoid HOA's for investment purposes.

I am trying to figure out if I want to approach my mother and her 3 siblings about owner financing a 5-unit they inherited in Boulder Creek, CA. So they inherited this property free and clear back in 2009 and instead of selling in a down market they fixed it up and rented it out. They are all retired and live in Montana and none of them want to be landlords, but they love getting those checks in the mail every month. It is hard to fix anything because 2 of them see no benefit in putting money into the property. (They live off this income almost exclusively). I see deferred maintenance in the future. I believe a big plus for them in owner financing is deferring the capital gains, and still getting those monthly checks, but there are cons for them too like not getting a fat check and still owning something with 3 other people. Are there other pros and cons? The whole idea behind selling would be so in the future their kids don't have to now figure out what to do with this property in California(there would be even more people involved at that point). Is owner financing even a good estate planning tool by getting out of the property, but still holding the note? What would you do? Stay out and have them sell it? Try to structure a owner finance? Is there a win-win scenario in here somewhere?

@Ryan Antista  around 1M sounds pretty close to correct on value for the 90064 zip. Shoot me a pm with the address and more about it and I can pull some comps for you and give you a better idea of what it is worth.

@David Dye has the right idea, you may be better off getting a bank loan rather than pay him a 5% rate.  Lock in your long term rate now while rates are low. If he was willing to do 100% financing then I could see considering a higher rate.

And yes, 11am  at unurban. Definitely the best meetup I've been to in LA.

@Neil Henderson I use a company, CBIZ, that has insurance specifically for vacation rentals.  It replaces your homeowners insurance and it cost me about the same per year.

@Ryan Antista Welcome to BP! Sounds like you may have a good deal. I would suggest posting more details on the house your living in now that you can do owner finance with. Everyone here would be more than happy to give input on the deal. 

Details like what it is worth/what you are paying for it. What the terms are of the loan he is offering? Why is he selling? You may be able to get more favorable terms if you know his motivation.

Good luck and don't hesitate to reach out!

@Willie Smith & @Jordas Reyes  Every point Chris makes is correct. As you have peobably already realized the exam and courses do not teach you how to be an agent. 

I have been with Keller Williams since I was a new agent and am very happy here. If you want great training it is the place to be. The commission splits are also gods for new and established agents.

It is 70/30 until you hit the "cap", usually 25k in most markets, and then it is 100%.

Good luck on the exam!