All Forum Posts by: Jake Van Vorhis

Welcome Teresa! 

This is a great site. There are a lot of knowledgable investors here with plenty of real experience to share. I work with a lot of investor/developers as clients and would be happy to answer any questions you have. I highly recommend the BP podcasts, myself. They're fantastic.

Best of luck to you in your investments!

Hi David,

I can't speak to adding a second building on the property from the ground up, but as far as extending "outside the envelope" (existing legally permitted footprint), that process requires a 311. Chances are if you are expanding out to add a second unit, you're going outside the envelope. The issue most investors/developers tend to have with 311 permitting is that it means the plans go through a neighborhood approval process. Without any issues, it could theoretically go through the building and planning departments in 6-8 months with a good architect, but with issues (like difficult neighbors), it could be delayed over and over somewhat indefinitely. Telegraph Hill is probably the worst neighborhood in the city for projects like yours. 

Overall, our city is very restrictive with additions, and frankly most investors I work with try to excavate down or fill in the envelope as much as possible with their additions rather than build out. Having said that, obviously every square foot added is potentially $700-2000 of increased resale value depending on the location and property, so it's a very lucrative long-term play if you have the funding for it. Even further, a lot of neighbors are open to alterations to the plans, negotiable compensation, etc, and some just need a sensitive ear throughout the project, so it shouldn't be counted out completely. Developers do it all the time, it just requires a certain amount of risk tolerance.  

As far as adding a second unit, the city is usually in favor of adding to the number of housing units city-wide, so every project is different, but that's a plus. You're better off with that project than an expansion to a larger SFH.

Hope that's helpful. Happy to answer any more questions!

Hello BP!

I am looking for land for a developer client of mine that is zoned residential in San Francisco or on the Peninsula. Potential acceptable cities are San Carlos, Redwood City, Burlingame, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Millbrae, San Bruno, Pacifica, Belmont, Half Moon Bay, San Mateo, Los Altos, Woodside, Portola Valley, Atherton, Hillsborough. 

Ideal budget is around $1M cash but could do more for the right deal. Raw land is ideal but land with plans/permits in the process is acceptable. Please message me if you have anything, know of anything, or hear of anything. Thanks!

Happy Labor Day as well.

Welcome to the site, @Luke Gresser!

Sounds like you already have much more skill and experience at your disposal than the average investor does getting started. If you ever have any specific SF-related questions, I and several others on this site would be happy to help. There are some great minds and some investors with great resumes on the forums. Best of luck to you in your investments!

@Ariel Goldenberg do you have an agent in the city you are working with? I am happy to run comps for my investor clients, but there is, plain and simple, no fast or easy way to do it. In the city especially, properties that are the same bed and bath count of similar size from street to street that appear comparable could be vastly different values. In Pacific Heights, the difference can even be block to block on the same street. Because of this, I don't think any automated software will ever work in SF. To go even further, some buildings, even extremely desirable ones like 999 Green or 2500 Steiner, have condos that simply never seem to go on the market, so comps are almost impossible to pull. Comps are difficult here, and I would 100% use your agent for it if you already have one you trust. 

Hi @Paula Ciobanu,

In regards to a landlord attorney, I would call Jeffrey Woo with Cooper, White, & Cooper. He is definitely the best in town, has helped my clients in the past, and I will message you with his contact information. 

I also just represented a client in the purchase of a duplex last month and one of the units was owner-occupied. I'd be happy to connect with you and hopefully answer any questions you have. We had to navigate a lot of the rent control regulations during that client's search.

Hey @Annelyse Finley,

I'm an agent in SF. In my opinion, holding in the city is very smart for the long term if you can. However, in your situation, I think selling your current place in order to buy, hold, and rent something else that cash flows or comes out even would be the wise move. The brand new Mission Bay condos are great, but HOA's are pretty high and the market has been saturated with new inventory. It is my personal belief that the general evening out in the market recently is at least somewhat due to the influx of luxury condos, as for the first time in years, supply for that market niche has come much closer to demand. I also agree with your thought about the newer buildings being much shinier and attractive to both tenants and future prospective buyers.

I imagine one thing to think about for your situation is where else (in the city, peninsula, or elsewhere) your equity could purchase something else that would potentially be an even better investment. Depending on what you would be able to afford, I might suggest a single-family home in another neighborhood in the city for a few reasons. Primarily looking at the macro-trend, when developers in town build new housing, they are condos. If you look 5 or 10 years out, the percentage of housing that is comprised of single-family houses will only shrink smaller and smaller. For appreciation over the long term, it obviously makes sense to own where the supply is most constrained.

Those are my thoughts at least. I'd be happy to put together an analysis of the comparable sales for you if you'd like. Either way, I hope that is helpful, and best of luck to you in your investments!

@Travis Knight I don't think it's crazy. If the idea is to subsidize your rent while building equity but not necessarily cash flow, and you find the right home with (hopefully) not too many repairs necessary, it could definitely work. The problem I have run into with investor clients of mine is that FHA maxes out at a price where usually only a duplex is affordable in neighborhoods where an owner is interested in living, and those end up going for a premium because of condo-conversion potential.

Welcome to the site! It's a great place for learning. I highly recommend the podcasts. 

Hi Myo,

I'm going to send you a private message as they don't like posting contact information in the forums.