All Forum Posts by: Eric Dowling

@Ash Pate welcome to BP and LA! As for where is the best to invest LA under your circumstance will depend on your budget and where you want to live, and your goals as far as cash flow vs. appreciation/rent growth. As far as avoiding rent control I would steer you toward culver city since there is none.

All the areas you mentioned are very highly desirable  areas, there are also adjacent areas that you may want to consider consider as well.

Again welcome, good luck and don't hesitate to reach out!

Al Williamson do you mean they are getting rid of their pay per booking model? The 10% one? I pay annual anyway so I don't have any experience with it.

@Account Closed on both of these you will be getting title insurance to ensure they have clean title. Title will run a report during due diligence. An REO in theory has a clean title because they clear it up before listing it, but they are humans too and things slip through occasionally. Always best to do your own due diligence.

I would suggest offering what you have to buy it for to get the returns you need. Right now that means the max you are willing to do because there is a ton of competition.

@David Dachtera water heaters outside are very common here. Never seen a basement before, what's that? :)

Art Maydan the fact that you already found a flaw in it should point you to a lawyer. No two deals are the same, no such thing as cookie cutter.

@Michelle Ho if you want more specific numbers feel free to PM me and I'll send you my spreadsheet, but...

It depends on your budget. City of PS is going to have higher prices but better returns. There is a VR on the market for $1M and grosses 150k. That is high end obviously. The average price in PS is more like $500k and closer to 75k gross.

Then there is Cathedral City (where I have one) with a $300k price tag and gross income of 50k.

Capital your looking at 20% down plus cost of furniture and closing costs. All my numbers are assuming turn key 3-4 bedrooms. I use gross numbers because net depends on financing. You can also get condos for 100k, but they are more seasonal.

If only there was some service or profession that took houses with motivated sellers and sold them to retail buyers for top dollar and charged a fee, creating a win-win for everyone. Hmmm...

Michelle Ho consider looking into vacation rentals. More specifically the Palm Springs market. You get the cash flow of out of state and the benefit of a Southern California asset. Win win. It is a different investment and not for everyone, but many people enjoy managing them in retirement.

@Aimen Shawki with the areas you mentioned, you have a pretty big area to work with and the deals are there, and just outside of the areas you can find some good deals as well. 

The strategy for investing here is different than investing out of state. You have different goals. Here you get great rent growth and appreciation. It is a great place to invest if your goal is to build wealth rather than maximize cash flow. There are deals that cash flow here, look at value add opportunities. If you are doing FHA low down it will be even harder to cash flow.

Also consider rent control when buying and if it is something you understand and are willing to deal with. There are plenty of areas that do not have rent control.

@Armand Farr welcome to BP! I would highly suggest reading the Millionaire Real Estate Agent. With your background I bet you fall in love with the business model. You may also decide after reading it that an agent career is not for you. It does a good job explaining exactly what it takes to be successful. 

You can make a lot of money in LA with an entrepreneurial mindset, and it is a great way to fund your investments. Your income is based on what effort you put into it. If you look at it as a business and put 100% into growing your business, money will not be a problem. 

@Sharyn Umaña-Angers everyone makes excellent points her. Another to consider is when you list, she will keep the place clean and in a show ready state? Why would she, no motivation.

If she cooperates through all of this and the buyers do their final walk through and she is still there (I'm sure she will have a great heartbreaking excuse), you are now getting sued for breach of contract because you stated the place would be vacant. (You also signed in the purchase agreement stating the prevailing party collects  attorney fees on top of damages).