All Forum Posts by: Michelle Mapp

Thanks. Are there specific aspects of the new contract you would highlight? I am going to be selling a property in No VA later this month and I want to make sure to speak with my agent about the changes.

Thanks

Michelle 

Hi.  I am looking for an investor friendly agent recommendations in the Pasadena, CA area.  I posted to a different forum but hoping this might be the right board to get some response.  

Thanks so much

Michelle 

Hi.  I am in Los Angeles County, CA and I need to figure out if running all the house's plumbing external to the house is up to code.  So basically, an owner had old galvanized pipes and instead of repiping correctly, he simply shut off the old system and ran new copper piping outside the house.    I am trying to figure out if this is a code violation and how this would impact sale.  

So, all pipes to sinks, toilets, washer, etc. are running outside the house and then new holes were drilled into the walls.  

I checked the 2013 CA Plumbing Code but it was really vague.  Who should I call?  Or where can I look for this information.  

I need some referrals/recommendations for a real estate agent in Pasadena, CA. I am looking for someone who has a good knowledge of the rental and purchase markets and has access to off MLS listings, such as pocket listings, etc.

If you know anyone or you are an experienced agent in Pasadena, please get in touch.  

Thanks everyone.  These comments have been incredible helpful.  I don't want to micromanage our PM but on the other hand I don't believe I get enough communication coming from them.  Through the years they have been pretty good, but we also have not had a turnover in 3 years so I have not been through this process with them yet.  

Michelle 

I have a townhome property and the tenant is moving out the end of August.  We need to do some painting, minor wall repairs, tighten some doorknobs, wash and tighten the carpet, apparently it was not installed great.  So, basically nothing major, all just some basic repairs, cleaning, etc.  

I need a gut check - is the following a realistic expectation of my property manager:  

• A detailed turnover/project schedule in place to make sure the vacancy time is limited 
• scheduled contractors - NOW - some of the work will be done by their internal staff but still, I don't want to be waiting around 6 days for the painters because they were not scheduled ahead of time 
• I would like our agent to be in there to be able to take pictures and have the place listed on the MLS by Sept 5 at the latest.
• I would like new tenants in place by the 15th or the latest the 1st of the next month. NOTE: this is Northern VA so places tent to turn quickly.

What am I missing?  Am I being too aggressive in my timeline?  Seriously, I would like it to be already listed but I am getting alot of pushback that they can't show it until the current tenant is out and they don't want to list it until it can be shown.  

Anyway, just need some other opinions and a gut check as I don't want to be unrealistic but I also don't want to waste time.  

Michelle 

Thanks everyone for your replies as this has been very helpful and really contributed to some deeper discussions on strategy. I may be trying to solve too many issues/goals with one property and one financing approach. I was trying to 1) buy into something for us to live in 2) secure a 2nd rental property (we have one in No VA) and 3) set up one unit as a vacation rental (I have numerous reasons). I was hoping to break even with basic rentals, then up cash flow with the vacation rental and we would live there for the 1-2 years then turn our unit into a rental. I was going FHA basically just to be able to afford more.

We are now rethinking our approach and looking at separating out some of our own housing needs (you don't get to move laterally in house when moving from northern Baltimore County to  Southern CA :))  and our investment options.  

Not giving up on the idea but rethinking how it might work and how to prioritize which we do first.  This also frees up location.  We want to live within a particular  geographic boundary but that doesn't mean we need to invest here completely.  

@Matt R.  yes, we were hoping to have at least one vacation/short term rental as Pasadena in particular has really high short term occupancy rates and some high peak seasons.   I also need to have a place for family and friends who are visiting.  However, I have seen some articles about people pushing to limit vacation rentals in town along the lines of Santa Barbara so I didn't want to base my calculations on something that appears to be a little more volatile.  So, I was using basic rental rates for my initial calcs.  

@Allan Glass  Thanks!  This helped explain a lot - including the horrible rental market in Pasadena.  We are currently renting and basically what I am learning is that many landlords are cutting it so close they have no money for basic upgrades or repairs.   I personally don't want to be in that situation.  

@Moses Kagan I completely agree that for me I can not include appreciation into the mix at this stage.  I have experienced selling in a depreciating market despite good schools, lovely environs... and it was not fun.  Not that LA will be depreciating but still its not something I want to risk at this stage of the game.  

Thanks again.  

We recently moved to Southern CA. I wanted to get an FHA loan, put 5% down and purchase a multi-family in Pasadena, CA.

I broke out my spreadsheets and WOW - I can't seem to make any scenario actually work, even to break even.   How do people make multi families in this market work?  I am not looking for a ton of cash flow from this property but, I keep coming up with negative numbers.  Now perhaps some of my assumptions are off:  

Variable cost assumptions 

• I built it property management at 10% as even if we want to manage it the first 2 years, after that I would want to outsource this bit 
• vacancy rate:  4% 
• repairs and maintenance:  5% 
• cap ex: 5% 
• landscaping:  4.5%  (assuming that there will be some land maintenance)

Fixed costs assumptions 

• property tax at 1.5% of initial cost 
• insurance at roughly 3%  of rental income 

In terms of total price I used the FHA max numbers and also compared to current MLS listings. Mortgage would be FHA max minus 5% and closing costs.

I am not sure how anyone is buying these with negative cash flow?  Are people buying off market, foreclosures, negotiating down?  Or in order to make these break even you need a larger downpayment.  

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.  :)  

Hi.   I am interested in how/when people are using project managers?  Is it only for flips and renovation projects?  Are there other areas of real estate investment/management where project or program managers are used?  

Based on the past posts on the topic, it looks like many of these people are contract or 1099 when they are even used.  Is this true or does it really depend on the size and scope of the organization?    

Also, what are the key things people are looking for in a PM?  Is it always a must-have to have been a contractor?  

For more context, I am doing a mid-course career change and while I eventually want to be a full time investor (moving toward our second investment), I also want to start working a bit in the business as well.  I am trying to see if I should pursue working as an agent or try to leverage my 20+ years of project and program management in the IT/Communications/Consulting world.  I am a certified project manager with a bit of Green Building experience and I specialized in multi-vendor projects which I think will be very applicable.