All Forum Posts by: Jimmy Johnson

If you are really concerned about the legality why not give your city planning and development department a call to find out from the source?  I know in Berkeley, California this was legal (with the proper permits for a conversion) as long as you could prove that you had enough space left on your property for the parking space you were removing.

Bumping this again. 

Hello,

Can anyone recommend a good property management company in the San Francisco East Bay area?  Specifically we are looking to rent out our property in El Sobrante, Ca.

Thanks for any help.

Wow, thanks for all the great advice. I'm glad I was able to spark a good conversation. As for a bit of background on the property, it is has 2 units. A 2 bedroom single family home in front and legal separate studio apartment over a double garage in the back. My mom lives in the back and I haven't reported her payment as rent because up until last year when I refinanced we owned the property together. I will consult a CPA on the tax implications, but after hearing input from all of you I would say that it is indeed time to sell and re-invest! Most likely the same way @Lynn McGeein did - some in stocks and some back into real estate in Oregon(Portland) or Washington(Seattle) areas.

Thanks again!

@Bill Gulley/@Rick Baggenstoss Thanks for the input, I hadn't thought about the fact that renting it out would in itself devalue the property and take away from all the work I put into it. It looks like I am leaning towards the right decision.

@Brian - Yes we would definitely move, my wife and I both have jobs that allow us to work pretty much anywhere. So I don't need to worry about where we work. So when you say sell or purchase a duplex/triplex do you mean here in California, or one in Oregon or Washington? It seems like you are more inclined to re-invest all the money back into real estate?

Thanks!

First off - Sorry about the topic, this is my first post and I didn't realize you can't correct topic spelling/grammar mistakes after posting. If anyone has any insight into how to correct it that would be great. Anyways...

I bought a multifamily house in Berkeley, Ca in late 2008 about 2 months after housing prices here had bottomed out. It was in pretty bad shape so I got it for 360k. I then put 3 1/2 years of blood, sweat and tears into it and completely remodeled it inside and out.

Enter the new bay area housing bubble - My realtor now says I can get upwards of 750k for it (and in the process take an equity payout of ~360k) or I could also rent it out for ~4500 a month. We have 2 new additions to the family on the way and need more space but, I can't justify buying another house here during the bubble. We need to move, so I'm thinking we will rent for the time being. Should I sell it and invest the money, rent it, or stay put? I feel like this bubble can't go on forever and I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. I am leaning towards selling now and renting then eventually reinvesting some of the money in another house in Oregon or Washington and the rest in index funds, but I wanted to get some other people's opinions. It seems to me by investing it I could get a much better return on my money rather than leaving it tied up in a house that I don't think can go much higher. The real estate market here never ceases to amaze me, when I bought this place it was in a "undesirable" part of Berkeley which has seen numerous improvements over the last 5 years and I thought I was paying to much 5 years ago. I would love to hear what you guys think.

Thanks for your thoughts.