All Forum Posts by: Owen Schwaegerle

Charles, I'd say it is a combination of both. The locals typically do not want development. It is a small town with a population of about 10,000, and some would like to keep it that way. The addition of housing units would put strain on the resources available for water as well as sewage. Though I like the point you raise about shipping in your own water. I know that could work in theory, but I'm guessing they aren't really in favor of that option either.

One day, they may be able to get a desalinization plant which could help offset some of the troubles due to the water shortage. 

The Cambria water crisis is a disaster. They only have two creeks which they dwell water from, the San Simeon and Santa Rosa creek basins. This is a real problem, particularly in drought years which are becoming more common in California. I just helped a property owner who purchased a lot in 1989 for $31,000 sell it today for $15,000. Talk about a bad investment... 

The lot I helped sell was a cute little, 3500 SF property. The buyer purchased it, speculating that one day it will be worth something. Which was what the previous owner did. I'd say steer clear of lot speculation in Cambria. I can share some comparable lot sales with anyone who is interested in viewing some of the data I have on this subject.

You may want to check out the lots in Los Osos instead. I've sold some over there for $61-110K, and Los Osos is supposedly closer to lifting their water moratorium and allowing development. You will need to do your own independent research, but those lots are much more likely to be developable in our lifetimes than Cambria.

One of the major differences between this economic contraction and the previous economic contraction in 2008 is that the average homeowner in America currently has much more equity in their home than they did in the run up to the last recession. Borrowers were able to do 0 down loans, get seconds, 80-10-10s, and other risky loans back then, but lending requirements have tightened up. So when the market turned last time, lots of people were underwater. The good news is that with people having closer to ~40% equity in their homes compared to ~10% in the last recession, when things happen they have options. They could sell their home and cash out the equity, or they could refinance. Basically, the whole forbearance was government intervention to prevent millions of people from losing their homes, and so far it has worked. There are services, like Landvoice, which collect all the preforeclosure data. In our county there have only been 8 new leads since the beginning of the year. That is down from 10+/week prior to forbearance taking place.

Owner financing is the way to go, Michael! It can totally work - you just need to find a seller who is willing to owner finance for you. You can do a direct mail marketing campaign targeting the 2-4 unit properties in a specific zip code or neighborhood. You can ask a title company representative for that data, or just pull it from ListSource. Once you get the list, just market to them. In your letter, explain your situation, what you are looking to do, and why owner financing could be a benefit to them. Happy to chat more on the phone about this too!

SLO is a great place to live. Maybe you will end up coming back here some day!

@Abigail J Steinert Investor/Agent here. I actually am a broker associate. By being in real estate full time, I am able to come across off market deals before other people find out about them and have that “insider trading” type of advantage before listings “IPO”. You can have your license and still invest in real estate, though most agents don’t actually invest. It’s good you are looking into the options. There are so many ways to invest in real estate, and you are able to choose how you do it. Being an agent is also a great lifestyle, and I think being an investor/agent is super fun!

@Kelly McJunkin one thing I’d recommend is house hacking with your next purchase. Buy a 2-4 unit property, have your housing expense covered, and then massively save to buy your next investment. Keep the multiunit and keep moving up.

@Jaideep Balekar

Incredible story. Thank you for sharing your insights!

Dylan, love the heart and grit that you have. That is a skill that is harder to improve than sales skills, which it sounds like is the reason things might not be converting. Sometimes, it is not what is said, but how you say it that makes all the difference. What are you currently saying to the prospects? What is their initial response?

There are lots of great books out there on this subject. Brian Tracy has written all kinds of books about selling. Another good one I think you'd like based on your energy and enthusiasm is Fanatical Prospecting. It is incredible!

Hello BP Community,

Are there any folks on here who invest in multifamily property in Jacksonville and Gainesville Florida areas?

Seeking to connect about the real estate markets there.

Best wishes,

Owen