All Forum Posts by: Josh Castellanos

@Brittany Taylor I honestly prefer section 8 tenants especially ones that are coming from a 1 bedroom or something smaller. Both my tenants are section 8 and have been in my units for about 2 years now and they are wonderful people and have not caused any issues.

It all comes down to how well you screen prospective tenants.

@Yvonne Chou Welcome Yvonne!

Awesome that you are ready to make a splash in the So cal market! I’m too ready to purchase my 4th property very soon so I’m doing my due Diligence on my next location.

Happy to answer any questions you may have from a mortgage loan aspect or just properties in the valley in general!

I’ll be attending the meetup on the 15th that Joshua graciously invited me to, hope you can make it.

@John Mocke Good tip John! Definitely, they typical insure more for the owner occupied policy vs a landlord policy. When I changed my condos to a landlord policy with Travelers it saved some good money while retaining good coverage as well.

Highly recommend getting landlord policy quotes, I obtained several and Travelers was by far the best premiums.

@Anthony Blackmon Yes my real estate investment plan for me is always buy and hold for the long haul.

@Anthony Blackmon My pleasure!

One of the biggest cons is the whole HOA Management company, it can be very frustrating dealing with them.

One if my units is like fort Knox where the management company nitpicks at every single thing for the smallest things like a broom left on the balcony (I’ve received several violation letters for something that ridiculously small)

What I did on my other condo unit that is closest to my primary residence is I participated and dedicated my time and effort into going to all the HOA meetings making my presence known. After about a year I became a board member and now I am the board President for that particular association.

While it takes a lot of time and effort I would highly recommend you participate in the HOA board meetings at least make your presence known and familiarize yourself with the other owners / residents this way when issues arise whether they are big or small they can go directly to you instead of going through the HOA management company.

@Victor Medina You hit the nail on the head Victor. Downtown LB is on the rise, BIG TIME. Helped my girlfriend purchase her first property in downtown LB last year and she’s 5 mins walking to Pine Ave.

While the long term tenant rent market isn’t quite there (unless you Air BnB it) it’s a very strong hold market and rents as well as value will take off sooner than later.

If I don’t purchase out of state like you did, Long Beach is my back up plan for my next purchase.

@Anthony Blackmon Hey Anthony,

2 of my properties are condos and I would never trust or allow my tenants to pay the HOA dues.

You as the owner will always be responsible for the HOA dues. If you put the responsibility of the HOA dues on your tenant and they don't pay them, or pays them late every month the HOA will come after you not the tenant since you are the owner.

It's always best practice to factor your projected rent with all housing expenses including the HOA.

You should re-calculate your projected rental amount and do some further research to see ideally how much you can get for the rent and see where you are after all the monthly expenses (mortgage, taxes, insurance, HOA, etc). Also keep in mind there will be things that break from time to time in the property that will cost to fix / replace you should factor that in as well.

Best of luck!

@Thelma Ojedis Sounds like the HOA board is brushing you off. It's obvious they are of no help, I would be persistent and reach out to your landlord to provide the CC&Rs to you. Every new owner is required to receive the HOA documentation through escrow at the initial purchase of the property, so he should have received them at one point and time.

Another option is if the complex is managed by an HOA company you could reach out to that company to request the CC&Rs as well.

Best of luck Thelma

@Joshua Duvall You can say that again lol. Cool I just joined the meet up group and RSVP’d to the meet up. Thanks again Joshua, really appreciate it. Totally down to buy you a coffee or a beer!

I reached out to your business associate as well for the Northridge meet up.

Looking forward to meeting and networking with ya.

Happy new year!

@Joshua Duvall Hello good sir! Excellent name to you as well!

That would be perfect I actually work at the Sherman oaks galleria at the Comerica building so I for sure can make that one.

And I live in WINNETKA so I can totally make the Northridge one as well.

Thanks man, really appreciate it! If you could please send me all the info when you get a chance that would be great.