All Forum Posts by: Eric Wong

I had this exact situation happen to me.  Like most everyone said, definitely do a credit/back ground check before you allow anyone on the lease.  I had the same mid set as you, that since there would be an additional person in the unit = wear/tear and I also pay trash/water, so I did in fact raise their rent to offset the cost (which they had no problem with).  

After doing my due diligence, I just created an addendum and added him to the M2M agreement. 

Keep us posted on how this turns out!

Being in Southern California, the eviction courts are few and backed up making the process EXTREMELY longer than it should be.  Plus there's the fact that this is not a landlord friendly state.  I had to go through what you are going through before, and luckily the tenant did leave when they finally said they would.  I lost 2 months of rent and they left a bunch of junk at the property, but my next tenants were a dream in comparison.  Which is a perfect statement to how important it is to take time vet your tenants thoroughly!  I had inherited the tenants I had to remove when I bought the property, and have since had great tenants after I learned my lesson. 

Good luck! and happy early birthday ;) 

damn i'll be out of town too :(

damn!  I have a shoot that day, or this would have been perfect.  bummer

welcome to the forums @Ricky Anon 

First things first, I'd say you're going to need to wait to see what you're pre-approved for to determine what you can buy.

If it is something in the $200-300k range, I'm going to say you're going to be looking more at SFR further away towards San Bernardino/Moreno Valley area as things closer to LA area are going to be in a higher price range. Finding a duplex to house hack would obviously be ideal, but again it's got to be within what you can afford, and also somewhere YOU would be okay with living.

Go to a few lenders for pre-approval to shop rates, and come back and let us know your best offer, so we can give you more detailed advice.

Cheers and good luck!    

Congrat's on closing on your new home!

1911, those are some old bones, I can definitely attest to some of the craziness of a property from that era.  My duplex is from 1908, and as cool as those houses were, they also come with A LOT of tough spots you'll run into on rehab.  

Is this property zoned historic or in a historic district at all?

How is the condition of the foundation?  I'm assuming it's raised and brick?

Are you trying to keep the integrity of the era of the house on the inside? or are you planning on modernizing it?

I had tenants that I inherited when I purchased my first duplex that were in this exact situation.  In my situation it never got better, and they eventually fell as far behind as a month on payment.  Since they were month to month, I ended up terminating their lease, and gave them 60 days to move out (because they had lived there for more than 1 year).  It was the best decision I could have made, and wish I had made it sooner.  Since I have had great tenants who pay on time and care far better for the property (I attribute this to vetting my applicants till I found quality renters). 

awe damn!  I didn't log on in a while and just missed this one too!!! agh... I'm gonna be better at logging in, and trying to make these events... I coulda walked to this one from work ;(

Definitely interested!

dang!  I just saw this, hope you guys had a good turn out.  I'll try and make the next one