All Forum Posts by: Jenna V.

After some ridiculously high quotes, my handyman ended up fixing it for a low price. 

Hey Stephen, congrats on the purchase!  I'm also a first-time landlord for almost a year now, and closed on a vacant duplex in Oakland last year. Some things I've learned along the way:

1. I hired a very good property manager who found my tenant. She did all the showings and interviews (I didn't have time as I had a FT job), and wrote in the lease that bed bugs are 100% responsibility of the tenant. I thought that was great foresight on her part, which protected me as a landlord.

2. Since you plan to self-manage (like I do), I've spoken to a different Oakland landlord who referred me to East Bay Rental Housing Association. I've never used them before, but they seem to have a lot of resources, and may be useful to check out.

3. One thing that's been invaluable to me, is having a reliable, affordable general contractor that I regularly call when the tenant tells me something doesn't work. Making sure the handyman is knowledgeable about all areas of a house is super useful so you don't have to call an electrician for electrical problems, plumber for water issues, etc, the general contractor pretty much knows it all.

4. You don't have to do this immediately, but another thing I would start doing is consulting with a CPA who specializes in real estate investing. My CPA wanted me to list all the deductions from last year, and since I didn't have all the receipts organized, just ended up guessing a lower number than I actually spent on the rental, to be on the safe side.

5. Get umbrella insurance. My financial advisor (who is also a landlord), highly recommends this for additional protection.

Other things I'm still learning is how to use Cozy.co, and managing my receipts better when tax time comes around!

@Account Closed I find this website to be a wealth of information: https://www.bayarearetrofit.com/

@Account Closed Probably most homes face some kind of natural disaster, whether it be tornados, flooding, etc and as a person with investment property within 5 miles from the Hayward Fault Line, who is planning to keep this property for at least 10 years, it makes sense for me to put on a "business" hat and wanting to mitigate the risk of possibly going bankrupt.

I think retrofitting is a great way to lower risk, if and only if, the cost of retrofitting was more affordable. My initial estimates are $10k for a duplex.

Apparently, it looks like the California Earthquake Authority gives out free Plans for general contractors (structural engineer not necessary) to properly retrofit, and I heard that if if you are handy, could even do it yourself. I'm not as handy, but am trying to find a affordable handyman who might be able to do it for much less...

@Account ClosedIn light of recent earthquakes, and the fact that experts predict the "big one" is coming to the Hayward Fault Line, would you consider seismic retrofitting a necessary capital expenditure?  Currently Im freaked out about the "big one" destroying my investment property; I don't have earthquake insurance, and I have an initial quote of 10k to get the place retrofitted..

I'd love to meet up!  I'm new to real estate investing and have a small rental property in Oakland. Would love to meet you all! Thx for the invite :)

@Account ClosedDo you or anyone know of a Slack channel for real estate investors in Bay Area?

Seem like tenant protection propositions are passing with flying colors here in Oakland, sounds like in part because the landlord protection groups aren't as organized. Being a newbie OO in Oakland, anyone know where to get in touch with, to possibly join these groups?

@Account Closed Any possibility you can direct me to this exemption certificate application? I'm also a software engineer, a new OO of a duplex in Oakland..

Hi Sara,

For your question, "5. How can I estimate or know the PMI?"

I would encourage you to speak to your mortgage broker, or, real estate agent - some loans require PMI, some do not. Right now it seems if you put at least 10% down there is no PMI. However, this changes depending on the market, and the broker would know for your area.