All Forum Posts by: Morgan Scott

Ali, I'd consider Oceanside as well. Especially with a strong military presence from Camp Pendleton, you may have a continous supply of renters. I also like San Marcos, near the university for the same reason. You may have more turn over, but because you'll be living there and it might not be as problematic for you. Good luck!

Hi Rami, at first glance everything looks like it is detailed well. Have you checked formulas in each cell to make sure that it's calculating correctly. If everything is, the. I come to the conclusion that you might be better building potrntially a smaller square footage building with less rooms. What does it look like if it you only built a 3/2 at 1800 sqft? 

Also I think your cost per sqft is a bit light given the current market. I'd plan on $300-$325 a foot. Especially if you have to bring utilities to the lot. 

Another interesting ideas would be to add a page and let this sheet feed to it so that you could run an IRR over a 10 year period, or whatever your desired holding period is, and see what type of return you get.

Great work on the details. It looks like you are getting to the core of the scenario. Good luck!

James, from a contractor's perspective I don't typically recommend re-facing cabinets. I've done it, but it is extremely labor intensive, and as a result - expensive. By the time you spend the labor on re-facing, you can often demo, and install new cabinets for about the same amount of money. Not to mention you typically will have higher quality cabinets with plywood box construction and new hardware at the end. Let me know if you have any other questions. Good luck!

I'd contact Architects Locals - Aaron Borja. He specializes in multi-family. They also helped my clients with a mini - lot sub division in North Park. I'm also building a SFR with ADU on the adjacent lot of the sub division. You can dm me for his number. Best of luck!

Hi Julie, I'd try David Willamson at Kimball Tyree St John. He's one of the partners and is very experienced in habitability issues. If you'd like his number direct message me. Good luck!

Hey there, I tend to agree wity Twana. A good property manager should be able to turn that into a passive investment for them. First I think they should find a good property manager. This will create some cash flow. If they need additional money for care taking they have a couple of options. You could lend them money plus interest and have the balance paid back to you as a balloon payment at end of term. You'd need to check lending laws on what you can and can't do for a borrower. As an alternative idea, they could get a reverse mortgage. It's equity based lending specifically towards seniors. Payments are deferred and owed at the end of life or payoff, whichever happens first. We used it to afford caregiving for my grandma and took Pressure off my mom and Aunt. At end of life the heirs refinanced and still had an asset. If they take a lot of cash out its possible for the reverse mortgage to use up all the equity. In this scenarios heirs would not benefit from inheritance. They need to educate themselves on pros and cons but it was a very helpful tool for my family. I think the other scenarios you mentioned make it a bit blurry because you would effectively be a renter and lender on the same property. You would also have to charge more than $0 because there needs to be financial consideration for it to be a real agreement. Good luck I hope they find a solution!

Hey Noah, I don't know Chicago but if you're going to try to go at it alone, I'd areas pay for a membership in a local property management association. They are full of resources! But depending on its cost, you may just want to hire a property manager. Good luck!

Vamsi, I think San Diego is a wonderful place to own real estate. It has shown to have great price appreciation over time. The weather and location creates a consistent demand. For that reason, I know what I'm going to say may be unpopular. I think it depends on what you are looking to accomplish. There is a difference between asset appreciation and cash flow. Its hard to know what a market will do in the short term, but long term San Diego will likely continue to have good price appreciation. If we look at your cash on cash(Net Income/Equity originally invested) your return might look pretty good. But if you look at Return on Equity (Net Income/Proceeds after sale) it might illustrate a lesser return and could highlight opportunity costs of not investing in a different asset type or location. Based on everyone's feedback it looks like Texas would deliver a better cash on cash return. Does that fit your goals? Whether you stayed in San Diego and found a different investment or took it to the Texas market, I think its clear that you would hope to generate a better return on a million dollars of equity. This was a great thread to read. Thanks and Happy Hunting!

Hey Sam, check out Albert Paiva @619.920.3961. Or try Lovelace Engineering @ 858.535.9111. Ive worked with both and have found them to be good/reasonable. Id work with both again. Good luck!

David, this is a tough one. I'm a general contractor and real estate broker. I've helped many clients buy homes that have foundation issues. Unfortunately in parts of San Diego, foundation issued are common. In North Park specifically, you have a lot of clay, ie expansive soil, and it causes force on Foundations and subsequent movement. I like to use San Diego Footing Repair and Affordable Foundation solutions. I'd be a bit concerned if neither foundation contractor was able to give you a budget or quote. I would not move forward until you know the cost to cure and come up with an actual game plan. If your contingencies are up on Sunday, most likely you would send your release on Monday. Also in California contingencies have to be actively removed. They are not passive, meaning just bc a date comes up that you lose your contingency. You as the buyer have to put in writing that you remove contingencies. Let's say Monday comes and you don't remove them, Seller has to deliver notice to perform or quit. Usually set at 24-48 hours. That may get you to Tuesday or Wednesday. I would slow play removal of contingencies, don't release them, and get a foundation contractor to give you an actual cost to cure. Then you can make an informed decision.