All Forum Posts by: Orion Walker

Hey Joe,

How's your rental in Ukiah going? I was just doing a little searching on BP and came across this thread. I'll PM you as well. I'm sure Ukiah seems super cheap coming from Petaluma, but still pretty hard to find deals where rental numbers work well these days. Anyhow, I'd be interested to chat/connect.

Nice website by the way. 

The Alabama thing just came up randomly from an investor friend who found it on Craigslist and was interested in partnering. The place was a little under two hours from Atlanta, so I figured that might be a good market, but that particular one, not so much. 

Yeah, I heard about that tax situation in Puerto Rico (on The Real Estate Guys podcast I think). Sounds like a cool opportunity though I'm still pretty small fry in terms of tax liability (on my list of things to do this year is get more tax savvy and connect with a good tax consultant, let me know if you have any recommendations). We have a couple friends from Puerto Rico, so I'll be chatting with them about that idea. 

In terms of other places, we had been eying Panama. Chile also has some interesting programs to support entrepreneurs. We have a trip planned to Costa Rica next March for a friend's wedding... So Latin America is certainly on our short list. And improving my Spanish and having the kids learn Spanish would make a lot of sense. Other potentials would be India (I've been there a few times and want to go with the family at some point). I'm also curious to see China... I guess at some point here we'll need to narrow things down and get serious about a plan.

Hey @Shane Pearlman ,

Fellow north coast surfer here, though I don't get out much these days. I too have the dream of a little beachfront vacation rental in the future. And like you, we are planning on heading out of country for a year or so before too long so the kids can learn another language and get a taste of another culture. Ours are 6 and 2.75. 

Sounds like you are well on your way on the investing front. We bought a triplex  in Fort Bragg back in 2012 without knowing much (just wanted a place near the ocean), but now we are getting serious on our investing focus/strategy. My wife will be down to two days a week this year, so that should help. \

Anyhow, good luck on the apartment hunting. I just took a pass on 8 doors in Alabama that looked great, but then not so great after a bit of digging. Let's meet up sometime if you come up this way or vice versa.

Cheers

Hey @Jennie Testman,

In my limited experience I'd say your best bet might be to connect with one or more investors who are doing flips further out in areas where prices aren't so high. Unless you really want to bank on appreciation I'd look to areas where you have a few exit strategies: fixnflip, fix n cash flow... I know the first instinct is to do something right in your area/where you want to live, but seems most beginners in the hot CA markets build up some momentum by going out of area/out of state. Even if you can manage to find your way into a duplex in your area, you won't cover expenses on one rent, probably not even two rents. With 50k you could buy something for cash in another market, then refi out and repeat. 

Anyhow, I'm pretty new, so take these comments with a grain of salt. Let's hear what others have to say.

Hi @David McCready, I'm just up the road in Ukiah. I too have been going over the same analysis, and having conversations with various folks in the area about the pros and cons of going out of state versus hunting for options in the north bay. As per @Andrew Fingado's point, I've been spending a lot of time in Lake County recently. I do think the two hour rule still applies here (there are decent markets within a two hour drive of just about anywhere) but I'm also planning to get my feet wet going out of state. I'll PM you and I'd be down to meet up in person and chat.

I guess you could say I've been pretty addicted to the podcast in the last month. I listened to them from newest to oldest, so it was kind of fun hearing the early episodes after hearing how things have evolved. Great stuff. Glad you guys stopped trying to sing the quick tip intro, though it was funny. Love that last question about those who succeed versus those who don't.

Now I'm sad because I have to wait so long for a new episode. 

Seriously though. Thanks for producing such a great podcast Josh and Brandon. Awesome awesome content.

Thanks for the two cents @Paul Sorgi. No, I'm pretty sure that I'll eventually be able to get a HELOC or refi without the foundation. But it would bump up my equity which could help make it happen sooner.

Wondering if I should add a perimeter foundation to an old buy and hold triplex.

As a complete newbie a couple years ago we bought a charming old Victorian converted into a triplex and by old I mean probably built in 1800's. Instead of a perimeter foundation it is built on post & piers. Pretty common for homes in this area of that vintage. We were even able to do an FHA loan on the place because post and pier is common in the area. I know some folks wouldn't touch an old place like this with a ten foot pole, but so far it seems to be working out pretty well. We've converted the alley garage into a fourth unit and the place is above the 50% rule (which is pretty hard to do in the local market).

I've been looking to get a HELOC or cash-out refi and get rid of PMI. A local appraiser said that a perimeter foundation would add about 15k to the property value. From a little investigating I think it would cost about 15-20k to add a foundation. So, on the one hand it would add value/increase our equity perhaps enabling us to get a HELOC and eliminate PMI. On the other hand we'd probably have to borrow money to do the foundation and the house isn't currently showing damage/issues for lack of a foundation and that's 20k I'd like to be investing elsewhere. Thoughts on what we should we do?

Thanks!

Cool. Not surprised that you're on top of the split testing. That stuff always interests me (what works, what doesn't what people respond to...) maybe you can update this post sometime down the road when the data has spoken. 

Cheers.

-Orion