All Forum Posts by: Jason Phu

Jason,

LA investor here.

After going through the paces and researching OOS markets, I decided to keep my investments in LA. Here's my rationale:

I have a career I enjoy, so I'm investing for the future. I want to replace my income with cashflow from a portfolio, but I don't need to tap into that cashflow for another decade.

I mathed out a bunch of scenarios, and I realized that I was better off spending most the decade building a portfolio in LA, then trading those properties for cashflowing OOS assets toward the end of the decade. LA has incredibly opportunities to build equity; the smart play in my mind is to build equity in LA, then trade a massive pile of equity for cashflow down the road.

So my whole strategy is finding the best markets in Greater LA and investing in multis there. I do a lot of research to find neighborhoods that should appreciate the most over the next decade, and that's where I buy and hold.

If you have a career and income, and you're investing for at least five years down the road, I think the best bet is keeping your money in LA for now.

All the best,

Jon

Hi Dan,

I also live in CA and looking to invest in Memphis. I have interviewed SEVERAL turnkey companies and received inventory from them, I have to agree that the homes seem to be overpriced. I knew from the start that I would be paying for the renovations, but for some of the areas I was looking to invest in, I couldn't find comps that would support the purchase price. Additionally, the COC return did not look appealing. Each company offered their analysis, but after I analyzed (with my limited knowledge) each deal, the COC return was NOT what their paper returns stated (Most of them did not account for contingencies). I am a busy mom of 3, wife, and full time professional so turn key is sooooo appealing to me. But I haven't found a deal that makes sense to me yet. I will continue my search and in the meantime attempt to build a team with move in ready properties in Memphis that I can purchase. I am still open to Turnkey properties, but I am determined not to get too excited to buy something that I don't fully analyze the entire situation.

FYI...I did ask a couple of turn key companies if the appraisal came back lower than the asking price are they willing to negotiate and one said yes and one basically said NO. Of course the one that said NO, I crossed off my list immediately. Good Luck. I am looking forward to hearing about your adventure. I hope we are swapping stories within the next 3-6 months about our properties that we have acquired. 

@Lena

What is your way/strategy  in building team to get move in ready properties. It’s so important to have/build a good team for oos investment. 

your Smart to be focusing on Nicest product possible not just what looks best on paper..