All Forum Posts by: Kyle Bergren

@Bruce Martin great work! Its looks like a great home even though on the high end. You won't have any issue selling it down the road for a good profit as well. Don't be afraid to send lots of bids out on the next one. It takes about 20 bids for every buy I get. 

@Alexander Felice it seems the saturation is going down the past week. I've had 4 lost bids go back onto the market just this week and about 3 for last week. You experiencing the same? 

Russell, no I know the lenders policy is required and happy to pay that. Overall, Ive called at least a dozen title agencies this past week and all say there owner policy is required to use their services. This is California so Im guessing things are a bit different over here.

Hey Team LA, I'm buying FSBO home from a friend who is an extremely low risk seller and its been challenging finding an agency who will execute a transaction without forking an extra $2k on an owner title policy. My lender does not require it. Any investors had challenges with this? Any referrals for a flexible title company?

Hey Team Bakersfield, I'm buying FSBO home from a friend who is an extremely low risk seller and its been challenging finding an agency who will execute a transaction without forking an extra $2k on an owner title policy. My lender does not require it. Any investors had challenges with this? Any referrals for a flexible title company?

Fellow BP members, could anyone in the area recommend referrals for an investor friendly builder or GC in the Rosamond or Lancaster area? I dont mind the new GCs on the block looking to get into this arena either. Referrals from other investors are definitely worth their weight in gold! Thanks again for reading.

Fellow northern LA county County BP members, could anyone in the area recommend referrals for an investor friendly builder or GC in the Rosamond or Lancaster area? I dont mind the new GCs on the block looking to get into this arena either. Referrals from other investors are definitely worth their weight in gold! Thanks again for reading.

@Joseph Lopez, the idea is for a personal residence. I agree that it probably wouldn't work to well for homes with the intent of being an investment homes.  

@Gene Hacker I think that may have been true a few years ago but I'd have to challenge that assertion that going over budget or overprice. True you really need to know what your are doing and know what your time is worth. Here in Vegas I have seen 75K-100K jump from 2016 to 2018 for your cookie cutter new construction starter home. Its supply and demand when it comes to home builders and I don't see efficient economies of scale due to lack of competition. (Not sure if that's the case in Bakersfield but I could imagine the reconstruction efforts at Paradise is pulling some of that talent away from the area) 

I do firmly believe if we are ever going to solve the housing shortage homeowners need to be empowered with a pull yourself up by the bootstrap solution--even better with networks to enable such solutions.  Where I grew up in Montana its not uncommon to build your own home and use a network of friends to get it done.  My father did built his own home to mitigate 20%+ interest rates during the savings and loans crisis in the 80's. 

Also, one has to think of the tax advantage of investing your own labor into a home. While a GC has overhead of (10-15%) and has to pay taxes  (25% Federal, 9% State, 15.3% SEP etc) on profits. While putting your time and effort with a network of friends that gain will not be taxed as long as you live in the property for 2 years. 

BP members, just curious if any of you who live in Kern or LA county are frustrated with high price of homes and decided to take a leap into building your own home either as a DIY Owner Builder or as acting as your own GC to save money?  (There sure isnt any shortages of buildable land out there!) I just started out and found there to be significant savings but thought it might be neat for some of us owner-builders to network and share experiences and skillsets. There's been a lot folks out there telling me Im crazy but saving 3-4 years of income for taking charge far outweighs the financial burden of a large mortgage.  What are your thoughts?

Unless the guy puts some of his own skin  (money) in the game I'd steer clear of agents and brokers. Typically deals are the ones off market so an agent or broker may not be helpful. Overall, maintain control of your money no matter what through the process! When you buy the place release funds at the title company and have the contractors get paid by agreed upon milestones.