All Forum Posts by: Martin D.

Hello Ashton, I think it's been 5 months –– have you found what you are looking for ?

I'm currently looking for a house to buy in Sedona and have connected with a couple contractors I could refer you to.

Thanks Jane ! That sounds awesome, NoHo is cool. How much did you buy your property if you don't mind me asking ?

Thank you so much for taking the time to go into more details Luis. This very positive feedback is getting me excited about the possibilities.

I'll reach out to you in private for more !

Thank you so much for the pep-talk Brenton !

Wow, 900 units in Los Angeles, that's really amazing. I imagine they are scattered across all neighborhoods, or do you have any preference when you're looking to invest ?

Thank you so much for your answer Shiva !

1. Today I live in an area where most apartments go for $5k+ rent and I'm paying a tenth of that, without having to share any walls with neighbors, and having breakfast literally on the water every morning. And biking to work. As you said, it would be hard to top that. Although this form of house hacking sounds like something I would enjoy doing, living in one room and subletting the others all the while fixing up the house. But I imagine to find a property where the numbers make sense, I would have to look in a far and not really desirable neighborhood of Los Angeles ? 

2. By that you mean I would be the one looking to find wholesale properties for others, and taking a commission on the deals ? I did read about that in the book "How To Invest In Real Estate," do you think it's feasible all the while having a full-time 9-5 job ? When I think about finding deals off-market, I imagine driving around and knocking on doors all day, until striking gold.

3. It does sound a bit risky but would certainly bring a lot of experience in deal-making. What kind of returns can one expect from lending money on a deal ?  

4. I would love to start meeting people from the industry, even if just on zoom for now :-) I'll send you a DM to get more info ! Thank you so much.

Thank you so much Joseph for relating your experience and Zach for jumping in to provide additional information.

I'm going to check out your website and especially the Florida area you just mentioned. I lived in that State for a few years and am familiar with it.

Thank you so much Luis! You are right, househacking definitely sounds like a great way in. Many times in the past, I was able to subdivide my apartment (did this in Miami, in Paris, and in Cannes) and sublet a room or a space for more than half of my rent and end up living on the cheap in great neighborhoods (although I was the tenant, not the landlord). I've always kind of dreamed of owning property and househacking it.

The only thing is, I did spend 2020 rearranging my life and adjusting it with all the new tricks I learned with books and podcasts, and I do not believe I could have any better deal than I currently have for living in Los Angeles. I live on a boat, pay $500 a month to live in beautiful Marina Del Rey and bike to work in Venice (5mn away). I barely use my car anymore and also end up saving so much time and money not driving around in traffic all the time.

Since you are familiar with the LA market, do you honestly believe I could do any better if I househacked ?
If you say yes, I'll do everything I can to find the deal.

Thank you so much Joseph for sharing your experience ! I did have turnkey somewhere in my mind, although I wasn't quite sure how I was going to vet the different companies out there. Reading your post and all the subsequent questions and answers was super insightful.

Hello BiggerPockets community,

First of all, let me start by thanking all of you for being so generous with your time and being so active on this platform. I found this place by accident a few months ago and have come back almost daily since. I've listened to many podcasts, bought your books, read posts from other users... and enjoying every moment of this learning process. I had always been curious about real estate but was trapped in a scarcity mentality due to my upbringing and can now see how changing my state of mind opens up so many possibilities in my life. Thanks for all the inspiring content you have been providing to this community !

A bit about myself, I grew up back in forth between France and the USA and decided to move permanently to Los Angeles 4 years ago. I work in the film industry and now have a stable job with a production company I love. I manage productions with tens of crews, run a camp of 100+ people at Burning Man, helped launched a couple nightclubs in France in the past, so overall I would say I'm pretty good at managing people, networking and making friends. Having worked in music, events and film, I would say I'm pretty creative and have good taste (that's the positive side of my upbringing). I also happen to love numbers and make sense of the world that way. They love having me around in my company when it's time to reconcile budgets after a big shoot, numbers and receipts scattered everywhere. My analytical mind comes in pretty handy in these chaotic moments and I'm always able to catch things that others missed.

I feel like I have made great use of the slow year in 2020 by reading a lot about real estate, making adjustments to my personal financial situation and started to save some money in the process. 2021 seems like it will remain pretty quiet in the film industry, so I would like to use this time to start applying what I have learned and make a move in the world of real estate. 

The only problem is that I live in Los Angeles and the market here is absolutely ludicrous. There's no way for me to buy anything right now, even the smallest ****** property in the ghetto is $600k+, which is way above my pay grade. Many markets across the United States seem to be more accessible, but because I can't really work remotely, I wouldn't be able to be on the grounds, check out the neighborhoods, talk to agents and make an educated decision.

Which brings us to my question. How do I get started in real estate while living in Los Angeles and not being able to afford a property here ?

Even though I don't have much experience, I learn rather quickly, so I was thinking maybe in the beginning I could offer to help a local real estate investor in my free-time (evenings and weekends), doing some research, analyzing deals, making calls, helping proof-read emails or contracts, etc. ?

What do you guys think ? Any feedback and ideas are welcome.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my little story.

Have a great start of your week !
Martin