All Forum Posts by: Marcy Moyer

Redfin hires agents with a salary. Some larger teams will hire with a salary but not many.

@David Flores I think the lease from California Association of Realtors is the best one. However, it can not be used without a realtor being on one end. It covers more than most other lease forms do and has the language that is required to do things properly. I would suggest you look at it and make sure whatever lease you use has all of the same points.  If you message me I can show you an example, You just can't use it as is since it has my name and CAR on it.

@Kathleen Albert selling a house involves a lot of disclosures which title companies are not going to help you with, so the idea you can have the title company do everything is misleading. If you get a lawyer to do it you need to make sure that not only the state disclosures are prepared and fully executed, but also the local ones. Each county and city has their own point of sale requirements and many of the water/sewer districts have requirements for sewer lateral tests and clearances so you need to make sure who ever helps you is aware of ALL of the paperwork that needs to be in perfect order, not just the contract. The reason for doing everything correctly is that most problems come up after the sale. And my experience has shown me that the easier the sale for the seller the more likely they are to have problems post sale. If the paperwork for the seller and all the disclosures are not perfect, the seller loses. And the loss is a lot more than the 5 or 10K you saved by not using an expert. So bottom line for me is get an expert to help. That expert can be a lawyer or a realtor, but who ever it is they must know what they are doing, because if not, it could come back to bite you. Unless of course you are not risk adverse and saving a few thousand is more important than having more peace of mind. No judgement here, I know lot's of successful and lucky investors who are not risk adverse. Just ask yourself if you are one of them. And yes, there are realtors who will do it for a flat fee. Again, you need to make sure they know what they are doing.

Right now it is very difficult to find contractors for renovation jobs as there is a severe labor shortage. As a result prices are high. plus San Francisco is not a easy city to deal with for renovations making the permitting process long which costs money. Renovating with twins is not going to be fun. Something to keep in mind.

Thanks @Ana Marie B.

Investing in the Bay area is a great way to gain long term wealth. It is just not great for cash flow. So if you are in it for the long run you may want to at least look into staying closer to home. 

Casey please feel free to reach out to me if you want. I am a realtor and investor. I am currently working on a home in Oakland in the Laurel neighborhood, so I spend a lot of time in Oakland these days.

I am a stronger believer in the wealth accumulation from buying a home in the Bay Area. Doing so has provided my family with a great return on investment and long term wealth.  For example, I purchased a town home in Santa Cruz in 2002 for $325,000. I put $65,000 down. It went through the increase in appreciation, then the crash, and then i sold it in 2016 for $525,000. Even with the negative cash flow I made $140,000 profit plus $250,000 of the mortgage was paid off during that time period. I walked away with $390K in my pocket. 10K a year profit on a 65K investment is not bad. Plus, today the town home is worth about 650K. I invested in another property instead so I did not lose that additional 125K profit. There are not too many other places where you can make that much money in such a short period of time. My primary residence in Palo Alto went quadrupled in 20 years, again going through several cycles of ups and downs. No one can tell me that these were bad investments.

@Naina Tara all property taxes and all interest on a mortgage are considered an expense in a rental property. You subtract  all your expenses including depreciation from the rent and that is the amount you pay taxes on. There is no 750K mortgage limit or the 10K for state and property tax limitation on an investment property. The fact that you do not live in the property allows that. If you did live in the property you would have limitations. You should verify that with an accountant.

Ana,

Inventory is low and prices are appreciating all over the bay area. The best way to not compete with cash offers is to find a home that does not need so much work. I am seeing fewer cash offers on homes that are move in ready so then it is just a question of price. I still believe the market in the Bay Area is a great investment, if you are in it for the long run. Sure, it may correct at some point, but over time this area has too many people, too many BIG companies, and too much going for it to become a ghost town. You just have to be able to wait it out if the market drops.