All Forum Posts by: Joseph M.

@Jeff Mills , How about taxes? Utilities ? Are they included or does the tenant pay? 

Yeah that makes sense on a larger property there are economies of scale so hiring security cost per unit wouldn't be as expensive. 

Myself I'd consider if it seemed like an area that has potential to change ..like if it's on the edge of a  hip or hot area or the city has plans to invest and revitalize the area . Have no idea where this is of course I'm guessing midwest somewhere? 

Take a look at an area like Over the Rhine in Cincinnati,OH.. properties were dirt cheap not too long ago..but now pretty expensive especially for Ohio . The city had a plan to revitilize and it worked out . It used to be one of the areas for the highest amount of murders . 

I think looking for areas like that before they get too hot , is a good strategy...but I know can be hard to find.

Here is a good article about what happened in Over the Rhine .

How Cincinnati Salvaged the Nation’s Most Dangerous Neighborhood

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/06/wh...

Originally posted by @Shiva Bhaskar:

Originally posted by @Chinmay J.:

Originally posted by @Shiva Bhaskar:

Hello everyone,

I've decided to take the California agent exam, so that I can get access to MLS for deals etc. Have a friend who is a fellow investor as well as a licensed broker (again, mainly to look for deals for himself), who can hook me up with access for a small fee, once I have the license. As it happens, I'm an attorney in California, so I don't have to take the class. I do, however, have to pass the exam.

Picked up a few well-rated books on Amazon, but I wanted to see if anyone had any tips re studying, and also, how long it might take to study, if I could put in around 30 minutes per day (probably a few hours per day on the weekends)? I'd like to knock out the exam before end of year if possible. Any advice is appreciated. 

 You might just be wasting a lot of time...

OK First all.. If you are already an attorney, and went through rigorous law school, you shouldn't have any problem passing the real estate exam. I passed it on my first try, and I can barely add.. LOL.. OK I can add, but have problems with fractions.. OK that aside.. 

Why do you really want to become a real estate agent?  Unless, you live in the area where you can invest in your backyard, I am not sure real estate agent license has much value. I would have highly encouraged getting your license, if you were living in Indy, or Kansas City, but being a CA resident.. I don't think so.  Unless you are into some multi million dollar deals locally, most CA folks are investing OOS. 

 Haha, I hear you! Funny enough, I am looking out of state as well (taking  trip to Cleveland in October and I think we'll be doing deals there soon), BUT yes, I already invest here for appreciation, and am very happy with the areas I'm involved with and deals we've done so far. There's a lot of good stuff in the LA area in the range of several hundred thousand (single family, not multi), and some of the areas east of here also have deals worth looking at. The investment market here is really active, even plenty of folks on BP doing quite a bit out here, but you are correct that plenty of us are also looking out of state. 

 SoCal is definitely an appreciation market today especially. Just curious what areas do you mean by east of here? Inland Empire area? Have you found anything that cash flows at today's prices? I know that area , Riverside etc got hit really hard during the last crash. Next downturn won't be likely anywhere near as bad but I could see them being more vulnerable than L.A 

@Shiva Bhaskar , I passed recently in CA . I found the free content through Prep Agent Youtube videos and they have a podcast also to be helpful.

I also got a subscription to real estate exam scholar for $29. 

I passed on the first try, but had experience in investing, since you are an attorney and have investing experience you shouldn't have an issue. It was interesting also there weren't math questions on the exam...but each desk has a calculator lol. 

@Lee Ripma  , good luck on exam I'm sure you'll do great. Do you plan to use it to broker deals in CA or for your own investing?

@Andy Cason Not sure about a specific BP live , Ive heard some of his and enjoyed them. I know he has a book but I haven’t read it . Starting with 100k cash and ending up with millions in 30 years would not be too difficult even with passive investments especially if you are reinvesting or letting it compound . Something more active like flipping or doing value add deals and then selling them of course could get one there a lot quicker .

Just read about the new Amazon fulfillment center that will be built in Oildale. It will bring about 1500 jobs, which is good for the area of course. Having a big name like Amazon come into an area is always good. 

Couple articles about it 

https://www.bakersfield.com/columnists/robert-pric...

https://www.bakersfield.com/news/amazon-plans-million-square-foot-fulfillment-center-next-to-meadows/article_3f1ae04a-aa28-11e8-9258-479cabb00bdc.html

@Jeff Mills Is it high crime with a lot of violent crime and murders ? Is this an area in your state or buying out of state ? The problem is you will likely have more vacancy, turnover , wear and tear and possible vandalism to your property and units which can add up a lot . I am also curious about how you calculated 25% cap. There can be money made in these areas but I believe it takes knowing the area well and being hands on . Many property managers might also not want to deal with managing in these areas or at least it can be hard to find decent ones .

@Jessica Wood No I haven’t , I know jay henrichs who responded above does new builds in various parts of the country .

Regarding rent control In l.a I’ve heard of tenants being offered high amounts over $50,000 and turning down the offer . Not sure if it’s possible to have a contract with the tenants before closing that would actually be binding. But if the owner could get the rent control tenants to move prior to closing I’m guessing they’d do that themselves . The laws are very pro tenant in L.A and now the city is even considering hiring attorneys for tenants facing eviction .

@Jessica Wood Crowdsteet is a platform that lists syndication opportunities but they also do a lot of due dillegence on syndicators as well . There are many syndicators active here on BP as well. Active real estate wise I’d say flipping or new construction will give you the highest returns . Finding property that is not being used to its best and highest use . Getting property rezoned etc This seems to be where the big money is but of course it’s more complicated .

@Jacqueline Carrington , did you end up paying any penalties at all when you used those 401k funds for those purposes? I do think 401ks do motivate people to save money , especially with the employer match that they otherwise wouldn't.