All Forum Posts by: Kayla Gatmaitan

Hi @Chantelle Lewis and congrats on your first duplex! As previously stated from others and with how the Feds continue to increase interest rates, I would suggest getting a HELOC/ HELOAN. Instead of refinancing and possibly getting a higher rate for the whole loan amount it would be beneficial for you to keep the lower rate on our existing loan. Then pull the equity you have and use that to renovate the property. If you think your renovations will cost more than what you can pull you can always find private money from family and friends to help you complete your renovations. If you have any questions about the different loan products you could use just dm me. Hope this helps!

Welcome @Kenneth Zavala! One of the best piece of advice I recently got is that knowledge is not power. But in reality knowledge WITH ACTION is power! You are taking the right steps towards that power. I would reach out on different networking groups and social platforms to find people in your area to shadow and learn from. Grow relationships with well known agents in the area who will have access to off market deals and lenders with investor friendly financing. Would love to talk more and bounce ideas offline. Feel free to reach out at anytime!

Hello @Account Closed, congratulations on this new journey! You have come to the right place to learn. I would suggest reaching out to an agent and lender in your local market to see how much you qualify for in your area. Then see what types of properties you can purchase in a 1-1.5 hour distance from the city! There are tons of ways you can invest in real estate and it all depends on your risk tolerance and style of investing you would like to pursue. Best of luck and happy to talk more anytime!

Hi @Devon Yates! As mentioned above, the market is shifting and giving more buyers the opportunities to have their FHA/VA loans get accepted from Sellers. If you are looking at purchasing a duplex using an FHA loan another alternative is buying a SFR with an ADU already built using a Freddie Mac loan with 5% DP. Freddie Mac just came out with an update last week letting homeowners use the income of the ADU as part of their qualifying income.

My clients are in the similar boat where they want to purchase a MF first and live in one unit using an FHA loan. One obstacle we are seeing is having low rents in the other units and not passing the 3-4 unit self-sufficiency rule with FHA.

I would definitively work with your agent and lender to strategies on how to present your offer in the best way possible in the beginning. That is what I do with all my clients and agent partners. Hope this helps!

Hello and welcome! Where in LA do you currently reside?!

@Peter Williams, it's great to meet you! I'm out in the Northridge area but my family has builds spawning all over LA County and boarding ones too. Is there any particular area you are looking to invest in? Can't wait for you to start your first project.

Hi @Jessica Stocker! Our family own business covers years of knowledge in the Real Estate, Mortgage, and Construction realm.  I would love to talk more about this offline to see if our goals and work ethic align. But most importantly how we can benefit from each other in the future. Call me anytime. 818.383.5721

hey @Account Closed ! My company is closing escrow on a SB9 project out here in the Valley! Would love to connect and talk more about this offline.

But in regards to your question, I love NELA due to the fact that it yields great rents! What is also great about SB9 is that you will essentially be creating a new APN and thus have two separate APNs on one lot. So if your intentions are to sell in 3 years to buy a bigger home, I would run the numbers and see how much and how long both projects would take. Maybe try and keep one of the parcels (or refinance and keep both parcels?). Or sell the vacant lot with the RTI ready plans to a builder who would like to take on the build cost and use the proceeds to purchase your bigger home. You have tons of options with that much land in a good area. Hope this helps!

Hi @Robert Reynolds! This is a great question that I get alot out here in Los Angeles county. Typically, it all depends on the clients needs and use of the ADU(s). Here are a few pro's and con's about purchasing one with or building it yourself...

1. No headache of hiring a contractor, spending on expensive material, and waiting anywhere from 4 months to a year for the build to be done. Since cost of material and labor went up you are looking at anywhere on average of $200-$300/sqft of ground up construction costs.

2. Typically depending on how you acquire the property, alot of lenders will not include the ADU unit as part of gross rental income when trying to refinance out into a normal loan. So it may become an issue when refinancing out of your build once you are done. ( My bank does accepts ADU units as part of gross rental income when using a DSCR Program)

3. When building, you have more control of the design, layout, materials, and overall use of the ADU.

4. Lastly,If you find big lots and would like to maximize your space, you can build a JADU, ADU, on the property essentially making it a three unit property. (if lot size permits)

PS. SB9/SB10 is a new CA Bill that was recently passed in January of this year. Great option to talk about with your investors!

Hope this helps your clients and let me know if you have any further questions!