All Forum Posts by: Francis A.

Has anyone used Costco's financing arm before? Their mortgage calculator immediately sends you names of prescreened lenders if your criteria matches pre "plugged in" criteria. I've never seen such a feature before. 

It looks like one additional way to at least get the ball rolling in hunting down lenders who many not necessarily be on a buyer's radar? 

https://www.costcofinance.com/LoginAndPricing.aspx

@Ken Taté 

St Paul is great. It's really like a mini Chicago with out the big city hassles.

Plug in addresses with # of bedrooms in here and compare rents - you'll see what I'm talking about. www.rentometer.com

Macalester, U of Minn, Concordia, St Catherine, Hamline, St Thomas… and on and on… ALL within about a 10 mile or so radius (or less)?  The ratio of rent to cost of duplex or triplex are not as wide as other bigger cities.  

All the best!

@Daniel Mawyin 

Welcome! A good personal credit rating is huge so I suggest get started on that. 

Erik Kaplan at THD Credit consulting does fantastic work and will give you pointers on where to begin. He is Los Angeles.  Reach out to him with your issues and see what he suggests.

https://www.linkedin.com/company/3363777?trk=prof-...

All the best!!

@Sean Hurwitz 

@Carrington Booth

@Joe Moore 

Ironically, I just saw this on Figueroa @ USC today. One day we'll look back and marvel at how change descends upon us - boom!  Not too long ago, downtown was dead at night except for those "underground" clubs with no signs on the doors! Today, downtown might as well be Disneyland!

Great! Let's do it. 

@Josh Prince 

Thanks for the clarification!! This must be one that is allowed to be maintained in its existing configuration because they are listing it and even giving financial breakdowns for inquiring investors. 

Hi,

What are the issues one would have to deal with on a 5 unit that sits on a LAR2 zoned lot.  This building is being treated/viewed as a "commercial" building.

Is LAR2 strictly zoned for a duplex and nothing more?

Thanks so much in advance!!

In the last chapter (CH 19) of one of the books frequently recommended on this site

(BUY AND HOLD – 7 STEPS TO A REAL ESTATE FORTUNE (by David Schumacher)

http://www.amazon.com/Buy-Hold-2004-2005-Estate-Fortune/dp/0970116225

the author lays out an interesting set of insights on THE ALAMEDA CORRIDOR. 

http://www.acta.org/projects/projects_completed_al...

http://www.acta.org/about/history.asp

It’s interesting to note that you will find multi units that cash flow (yes, in Southern California) along the the residential areas all along this route. (Cash flowing 5 unit buildings seems to be an interesting feature in some of the areas btw).

This (The Alameda Corridor) makes the implications of the changes that the author is talking about so much more interesting especially since we’re only 5 years away from 2020 and beyond. 

The first 4 paragraphs:

THE ALAMEDA CORRIDOR AND ITS FUTURE IMPACT ON CALIFORNIA AND THE NATION.

“ After 20 years of planning and five years of construction, the 20 mile railroad, which opened in April 2002 has and will continue to significantly affect both Southern California and the nation for decades to come.

During the early 1900s, New York became one of the greatest cities in the world due primarily to trade and the sudden influx of ships into the York harbor, New York became the hub of the world mainly due to commerce from Europe. As trade increased, many cities in the eastern and southern Unites States became very prominent, especially cities of the New England states and Louisiana territory. As the development of America spread westward, trade became larger and larger and boomed into tremendous activity. As a result, real estate flourished in New York. The George Washington Bridge was built and skyscrapers towered towards the heavens.

The cost of living there has always been more expensive than on the west coast, but the west coast will have its turn. By 2020 southern California will surpass everywhere else in the country for trade activity. The Pacific Rim countries are much larger and more dramatic than what Europe was at the tum of the century. Trade will be so monumental and the economy will be unparalleled compared to what happened at the turn of the Century. This will have a dramatic effect on real estate. Unless the density requirements are changed by local authorities, we will not see high-rise structures along the west coast in the same density as the east coast.

The Alameda Corridor is already playing a major role in this gigantic trade influx. This new railroad connects the transcontinental rail yards near downtown Los Angeles to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach along Alameda Street via a series of bridges street improvements. underpasses and overpasses. The corridor passes through Wilmington, Rancho Dominguez, Carson. Compton, Lynwood. South Gale, Huntington Park and Vernon. It accommodates rail traffic for both the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and Union Pacific Railroads. utilizing three rail tracks. Approximately 90 miles of rail branch has been consolidated into one high-&peed 20-mile corridor. “

To everyone on this thread:

Regarding the future, trying to read the tea leafs and being priced out of better markets. 

Please read CH 19 of David Schumacher's book BUY AND HOLD (2004-2005) revision called THE ALAMEDA CORRIDOR AND IT'S IMPACT ON CALIFORNIA AND THE NATION. 

http://www.amazon.com/Buy-Hold-2004-2005-Estate-Fortune/dp/0970116225

This chapter is a must read for anyone buying RE in SoCal and looking for an "affordable" way into SoCal real estate.  This guy basically lays out the future in a discussion of the Alameda Corridor. VERY fascinating. 

http://www.acta.org/about/history.asp

@Clint Kreider 

You raise great points especially about being “priced out of" ones "market” of choice.

But I have to say to those “priced out” of their preferred markets not to despair. In our case, we were priced out of where I wanted to live. But that was the best thing that happened to me personally because it forced me into heavy research and to see Real Estate for what it was becoming and was PROBABLY going to be (IE: doing the prep work in the kitchen before cooking a meal) as opposed to what it was (IE: a delicious dinner already cooked and ready to eat).

Being forced out of our preferred market is what put us on our current multi unit adventure.  

Being creative isn’t the sole domain of financing alone.

And now, being "priced out" is not a concept we think about much because, once your foot is in the door (based on your “creative” efforts to get in) you start seeing MORE creative angles, and then it’s off to the races.

IMHO, getting one’s foot in the door is the SINGLE most important thing.

Yes, people may buy with zero cash down and every single lauded “creative deal” known to man but guess what? When you’re in “the game”, you’re…? IN THE GAME. And so long as you’re in the game, you have a puncher’s chance (to borrow a term from boxing).

It’s one of those situations where you wish you could claim you were a genius in sussing out what to do but actually, it’s the culmination of diligently trying to cross a river without a raft. Soon, a simple branch laying on the shore no longer looks like a branch. It could be an oar… and on and on and on….