All Forum Posts by: Jon Schwartz

@Jon Schwartz Wow no kidding! that's a massive half of a duplex! That's larger than a lot of the typical SFH in Southern California. Is your other half of the duplex just as big?

@Jon Schwartz

Hi Jon, Costa Mesa is definitely a city I'm looking into.  I'm also looking to start a family in the next few years so Multi-family may not be the best option to live.  But definitely great for rentals!  

Are you seeing anything under $1M? Costa Mesa is a pretty good city so I can't imagine many under that price. I guess everyone is hopping over from Multi to SFH with the pandemic...
  

Hello all,

This is my first post so I want to introduce myself to the BP community. My name is Zenas and I currently reside (rent) in southern California. My background is in architecture and I currently work for a large general contractor in the commercial/industrial sector. I’ve been listening to the BP podcasts for a little over 3 years now and currently has an investment property in the inland empire area.

I'm looking to buy a SFH in Orange County to live in. Originally, I was hoping to do either a live in flip or BRRRR an old home, live in it for a few years, then rent it out for cash flow and do a cash out refi. But with the prices at how they are in Orange County, even the prices of old homes are too high to cash flow anything. Do you think there are still opportunities in the current market to find a fixer upper to fix up and be able to make some decent equity to cash out refi a few years down the road? This seems like the only option if I want to live in Orange County without House Hacking…

Any Advice or suggestion is welcome! 

Hello,

I am looking for CPA recommendations in California.

Thank you!

2021 Goal is to grow to 10 doors from 1, investing for cash flow.

I currently own 1 rental in San Diego that breaks-even because I stuck my retired parents in it, it's 60%LTV with $320k mortgage, worth $545k.

I rent in Los Angeles, $2,100 per month but am considering putting 5% down on a vacant 3 unit property to house hack that has the following:

2 bd/ 1.5 ba front house

2 bd/ 1 ba back house (1 bedroom is un-permitted per title reflecting this as a 1/1) - will rent for $2k

1 bd/ 1 ba adu - not sure if it was permitted - will rent for $1500

$850k with 5% down, Mortgage will be $4600

This seems like the best next step except the unpermitted aspects give me pause.

I pulled $100k out of my San Diego home to consolidate my student loans, but have yet to pull the trigger as I’m considering ways to put this cash to work and arrive at paying those off with the proceeds. This means I still have $800/ mo student loan payments.

I make $80k base salary and have $60k in savings

So in total cash I have $160k to do deals at the moment. Any advice on what the best path forward is to help me out of analysis paralysis and start growing?

1. Continue renting and invest for cash flow out of SoCal

2. House hack at $850k plus, considerations?

Your input is greatly appreciated

Hey BP community.  Thank you guys so much for sharing your experiences with me.  I've learned a ton of information over the past month or two here.  I wonder if you guys can shed some light on this particular situation.  Also, if anybody has architectural questions, construction, costs, etc. questions I would be more than happy to help too.

Here is the deal I am needing advice on:
The address is 3110 E Thompson St Long Beach, CA, 90805 (shows 459k zestimate on zillow)
A friend of mine owns this property with his 4 siblings.  He is 1/5th owner.  The property is owned free and clear.  His siblings are willing to sell it to him for whatever the market value is, minus 1 brother, who will be a silent partner.  Him and I are estimating the fair value at 450 which means we would have to pay his 3 siblings $90,000.00 each and then him and his brother would keep their $180,000 worth of equity in the property ($90k x 2 siblings staying in the property).

We were thinking of taking out a mortgage to pay his 3 siblings off 180k.  We're estimating the mortgage payment at around $1,300 per month for the 180k loan.  
Now here is the fun stuff. He is going to partner with me on the property and go 50-50%. Him and his brother who stayed in on the deal will have their own family agreement. He wants me to handle all of the pre-construction and construction involved to add 3 new 2bd/2bth units on the lot. There is an existing 1 bd/1bth unit already on the lot. The zoning is R-2 which means we can add one more primary and two ADU's up to 800 SF each. There is a slight chance we can convince long beach to re-zone the lot to R-3 as they just started re-zoning areas to allow for more housing. But worse case we have two primary and two ADU's totaling 7 bedrooms/7 bathrooms and roughly 3,100 SF.
I researched the rents in the area and it looks like we will be able to gross $9,200 and if we property manage it ourselves we can cash flow $6,000.00.

So the advice I'm looking for is:
1) What is the max we can take out on a mortgage since the house is paid and we only need 180k to pay off his brothers?  We are thinking taking a fixed low interest mortgage would be our best bet to finance all of the per-construction and construction costs.  I'm estimating I will need approximately 350,000 for the construction and another 20k or so in city fees.  Is there a way to borrow up to the value or the house on a mortgage?  If we can at least get close to what we need we can finance the rest through construction loans or personal financing.
2) What is the best way to partner on a deal like this? I've heard opening up a LLC and having us both 50-50 partners on the LLC is the best way. My partner would then fill out a quick claim deed signing over the title to the LLC? Is this correct?

Hey everyone,

I’m currently in the process of potentially acquiring a property in Los Angeles, but it needs foundation repairs. Does anyone have any recommendations for structural engineers in the area for an inspection? And great foundation repair contractors?

Hello All,

New member here and apologize if i'm touching topics that have been touched hundreds of times before.

I am gearing up for my second investment in Los Angeles and am trying to get a better idea of what i can really afford on my second go around. I have been able to save up a significant (for me) amount of cash that should suffice as 20% down in a good portion of the city and many of the areas that i am looking at. However my w2 income in the mid 100 range i am unsure if i am shopping outside of my reach.

I currently own a duplex in WLA with modest cash flow and about 450k in equity. I have since been looking at properties in multi family (or atleast ADU) properties in Highland Park, Mount Washington, Pasadena, and less so Belmont shores long beach. These would all be house hacks and i see them as a way of getting myself into an area i could not afford on my own income, as well as the opportunity to move out years down the road and cash flow.

However the areas of Carthay/Cresecent heights/miracle mile triplex/duplex properties have caught my eye and most of them are in the 1.5mm+ range. If i am able to manage a down payment is it possible to qualify for a property like this? 

I have the tendency to want to go bigger/better on my next deal but am unsure if that is the right attitude as a newbie. 

Thank you!