All Forum Posts by: Eric Li

Hey BP,

My family is moving to SoCal but want to keep our 4 bed / 2 bath West Oakland home in case we want to move back and because we have a low interest rate.

We want to rent it out and are considering long-term rental, section 8, or airbnbing it out. What would you recommend and why?

Our PITI is a bit under $4,000, and here's what we care about:

1. Rent: we want to at least cover PITI, earning more would be nice
2. Vacancy rates: we’ll be out of state, and want to minimize turnover. We’ll probably have a property manager.
3. Tenant quality: avoiding headaches or having to fly up to handle issues is important.
4. Ability to move back in: we know we’d need an owner move back in clause, we’re aware of protected classes, relocation payments for no cause evictions, etc.

Based on what we care about and anything else we should consider, what would you recommend and why?

Right now, we probably lean towards long-term rental as the rent is reasonable, vacancy rates may be lower especially if we rent to families. Section 8 sounds good in theory since government pays a big part of the rent, but it all seems to hinge on finding the right tenant and screening really well to avoid a bad tenant. We lean away from Airbnb because neighbors who tried it said vacancy & maintenance costs were high.

Any feedback welcome. Thanks!

@Poem Turner, thanks for the tips! Was planning to do a pre-qualification form, but hadn't thought to do the floor plan and video walkthrough!

Hey BP, how has it been filling vacancies during COVID? Any observations or tips on things that helped you fill vacancies with high quality tenants right now? 

I'm house hacking in West Oakland / Emeryville and about to have some vacancy.

Hey @Tony Lin, thanks for the feedback. Will add a clause to make it explicit that they're responsible for rest of lease until another tenant is found. From what I've read, this is the default in California, but hard to enforce unless I sue or try to collect. 

@Ryan Landis, thanks for input! Is a break lease fee legal / common in Oakland, CA? If so, is this something that'd be collected and held upfront or when / if lease is broken? I imagine it'd be hard to collect a break lease fee at the end when / if lease is broken, right?

@Arwen Lothlorien and @Lauren Kormylo: good questions. 3 of the tenants have left early because a long-distance partner moved to the area and so they wanted to get their own place. The other tenant left early because they left their job, wanted to save money, and wanted to move back in with parents to cut costs. Since the move outs due to long distance partners, I've started asking prospective tenants what big life changes they anticipate in the next year and if they're planning to move in with a partner in the next year.

Hey everyone, I could use your help and advice on how to discourage tenants from breaking their leases early.

Context: I own a single family home in Oakland and rent out 3 of the 4 bedrooms. So far, my net vacancy rate is 0% since I've been able to find roommates. However, I've had 4 tenants break leases early over the last year and every time, it takes time to find a new roommate. 

What I currently do: My current lease stipulates that I keep their 1 month security deposit to cover vacancy if I'm unable to find a suitable replacement after they move out, but that hasn't really deterred tenants from breaking their leases early.

What else can I do to deter breaking leases early? Few things I've considered are below, but not sure what is works the best and is legal, especially in tenant friendly Oakland:

• Impose an additional 1 month penalty if they break lease early
• Make the tenant responsible for finding a suitable replacement

Thanks in advance for your tips and advice!

Hey @Zachary P., @Sherwin Gonzales, any updates on if you ended up finding a property and renting out the un-permitted units? Am looking into a property with unpermitted units and wondering if things have gone well, what you'd recommend given more time and current laws?

Hey @Kevin Gomes, completely agree that each block brings its own unique flavor. For your single-family home in Fruitvale, I'm curious how you made the property cashflow given how Fruitvale and neighboring areas are heating up? Was it a bigger 4 BR or did you do something else creative to help the numbers?

Thanks @Kevin Gomes and @Kyle Tolbert. I was able to interview and pick an agent thanks to help from the BP community, so I'm all set. Thanks again!

Hey east bay investors! Where are folks looking and finding the best investment deals? I know the market is super tight and competitive, but are folks finding more luck in certain neighborhoods?

I've got my agent, working on loan preapproval, so next up is honing in on the right areas, so any tips / stories / suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Hi @Israel Gonzalez and @Marc Salloum, I'll message you both directly to learn more. Thanks!