All Forum Posts by: Melissa Nichols

@Lance Lvovsky - I think I'd like someone to meet with in person. Is that atypical? San Francisco must have a ton of CPAs who would meet my needs, I imagine? Yes, trying to hear from other investors by posting here (and elsewhere). ; ) 

Hoping this comment bumps this post up for more views.

Don't do the Keurig. I've heard they get moldy easily, and I'm not about to go buy K-cups when I go stay at a rental. I'm just going to be annoyed they don't have a regular coffee maker. : )

Our VR has a small glass canister filled with gourmet, local coffee beans. I put a sticker from the coffee company on the canister so guests can go pick up more if they'd like. We have a Chemex with filters provided as well as a regular coffee machine with filters provided. Also put out 4 bags of tea for each stay.

No advice here, but I feel the pain on finding a real estate agent in the area. We bought a house in JT last year and it was... interesting. : )

Hi Jose,

I live in San Francisco but own a vacation rental in Joshua Tree (will be headed there this weekend). That area is definitely a well kept secret in CA! I agree on the tenant quality - only worth it if you're willing to potentially deal with some iffy tenants. That said, I'm looking to invest in long term rentals nearby in 29 Palms and do know a little about the area. Feel free to shoot me a message and I can see if I might be able to help you out! Could be worth it... but really depends.

Best,

Melissa

Hi there,

Anyone have a recommendation for a great CPA and Tax Preparer in San Francisco? We're looking for someone who understands real estate (we only have one property but are looking to purchase a second one soon). Additionally, we have a few "side hustles" which net us around $20-30k/year, in addition to our W-2 salaries. So, someone who can do more than just the basics.

Thank you!

Melissa

Highly recommend The Art of Non-Conformity (not real estate specific)

@Eugene Rogachevsky Thank you! Super helpful. Appreciate the reminder of being sure to shop around.

@Chris Mason Thanks! Good to know it's important to make sure they're on board with the strategy. Believe it or not, we are talking California (Twentynine Palms)!

Thanks, @Joshua Allen. Good to hear from someone else who has done the same thing.

Hello,

My husband and I bought a vacation home (2nd home) about a year ago and have been renting it out on Airbnb since January 2017. We bring in an approximate gross profit of $3k per month and a net profit of around $2k. 

We bought the property using a mortgage, and due to the home being mis-marketed, we got it at a steal of $95,900 but the appraisal came in at $125k. After our rehab of the property and the quick upward trend in the housing market in the area, we estimate the home to be conservatively appraised at $165k if we were to have it reappraised.

We're excited by the success of the Airbnb property but want to give a go at long term renting so as to not put all of our eggs in one basket and start to diversify. We're trying to figure out the best option for financing our next property, and our goal is a duplex for no more than $110k + $10k in cosmetic rehab.

We have some cash in the bank/savings, but not a ton (and we'd like to have much of it kept in the bank as a security net). So, we're looking for the best way to finance our next downpayment + rehab costs. Right now, the mortgage on our 2nd home is financed at a rate of 3.5%, and refinancing would bring it up to around 4.625%, so we think we'd prefer not to mess with our current mortgage. And just as a note, we live in San Francisco and don't have a primary mortgage (we rent) so we can't cash out refi on any first home.

The option we're considering the most is to do a HELOC for part of the down payment and also partially use our cash savings. Is this the best option? Is there any reason this would be a poor option to take? We're trying to follow the BRRRR strategy but are not quite sure we want to let go of our current mortgage rate.

Thank you!