All Forum Posts by: Rob Duke

The problem I have with this question is the false assumption that it is those in Real Estate who create the problem. The problem is demand and lack of supply and high demand. Economics 101.

A big part of the problem here in California is incompetence and ignorance. 

Here is a quick, off the top of my head list of some contributing factors which OP overlooked:

1. (Many intertwined points here) City Mayor, Council and State Legislature offer benefits to businesses to come. Those businesses bring increased wealth to the cities which bleeds into the local populace by way of spending and demand for goods and services. Workers from around and outside the area strive to work for the higher wages and better quality of life offered, an influx of workers move toward the city. Local businesses and workers thrive and demand more. Without increased housing and multifamily supply, rental and housing prices go up. Here is an infographic illustrating this here in California: https://infogram.com/california-bands-together-1g43mn7yrl062zy

2. City/State governments ignore the increased demand due to more workers in the area. This puts further strain on the existing, insufficient housing supply. Without increased housing and multifamily supply, rental and housing prices go up.  Another illustration of the ignorance and incompetence by elected officials to proactively address these problems:  https://infogram.com/waning-construction-1h0n25xgryoo4pe

3. City Mayor, City Council and State Legislature promise big benefits(here in CA, Overpromise) to state workers in a bid to buy votes. This strains the budget greatly. Taxes and regulations increase as well as enticements to companies so they come and pay taxes to balance these budget shortfalls. The workers have more money to spend and what happens? They demand better housing accommodations with their increased purchasing power. Without increased housing and multifamily supply, rental and housing prices go up.

4. Overburdensome laws and regulations. The complexity to get new housing and multifamily built has exacerbated the building of new homes and multifamily. This has put downward pressure on the supply of new housing and multifamily units. Some factors:

• Local growth initiatives designed to stem the overpopulation of areas
• Often misused Environmental Laws pushed by local residents in opposition of new development.
• New development opposition and reviews by local residents in the form of hearings, etc.
• Redundant governmental reviews by many different departments.

Just a few things which came to mind that exacerbate the already messed up housing supply around the country.  Gentrification is a symptom of major problem and to say that those who rehab and build homes and multifamily are to blame for gentrification is, in my opinion, flat out wrong.

Welcome. I'm in the LA County area as well. I'm always interested in talking to other investors in th e area and exchanging ideas and observations. 

Have you checked local occupancy laws?  Assume a neighbor will call the city when you try packing a bunch of people in there, college students are notoriously rowdy and will easily draw a neighbors ire. I know the cities have been concerned with parking as well which is greatly impacted by situations such as what you are proposing. 

I'm not saying you will find problems, but if I were you, research it yourself and be extra thorough. 

I'd suggest using complete sentences and taking the time to give a scenario with at least minimal details. 

SF is an anomaly though as their center of industry is unrivaled. So this could very well happen for all I know. 

Regarding the predicted impending housing crash: While I am not hooked into the inner workings of the financing markets, I just cannot imagine them being in the same shape they were in say 2007 so I would not expect a future housing 'crash' to be anywhere near what it was. Though one thing to note is Silicon Valley and automation disrupting major industries and putting downward pressure on wages across the board which one would think would eventually have to limit the ridiculous entry level home prices in places like Los Angeles & Orange County CA. I would think these factors would play out in a prolonged, downward pressure on the housing market over decades.

Let us assume financing is not an option as banks will need income and assets.

In your shoes I'd first focus on marketing:

• Do you know much about how your RE agent is marketing your property? 
• Did you get it staged?
• Was there an open house for Brokers/Agents?
• Did they throw it up on MLS and call it a day?
• Make sure you see it on Zillow, Trulia, Yahoo! Homes, Realtor.com, Redfin, etc. 
• Is it posted in any local RE magazines, etc?
• Is your Agent having corner streetsigns along with someone to host the house at least 1 day on weekends? The bigger agents will have underlings be there to show the place, pass out flyers and cards. 

Try to push marketing without making your agent feel they are shirking their responsibilities, show your motivation to help them with marketing and that might motivate them.  You just need to expand your property's profile as much as possible.

Now is the time to be optimistic and persistent, good luck!

For any good advice here, I think you will need to detail the situation a bit better. Also, as Amy said above, do you have an asking price in mind that accounts for the declining market and your pressing need to sell? At that price, are you upside-down?

I'd just buy a new range, charge her for it(break it up monthly for 6mo if you need to). Repairs going to be $400+ and yet you could get a new one which will reset the useful life of it. 

Yea, If I go ahead with this, I will first try carrot. On the bright side, I am paying all cash so the only expenses will be HoA, property taxes, etc which don't amount to more than $350/mo. Since I am new to RE Investing, part of me wants to actually go through the process and find out how tough/expensive it is so I can better evaluate future deals. Based on the instant reaction I see, people are extremely weary of dealing with these situations and that means I could potentially make more deals work as others will pass these up. 

 My understanding is that if he is a Tresspasser (broke in via window and has not gotten utilities in his name) I can get the sheriff to throw him out after a 2 day notice. Not sure how accurate that is, but this guy doesn't have electricity so I doubt utilities are in his name.

Quick search got me this from https://quickhomeoffers.com/2014/07/07/evicting-sq...

If you have a squatter:

• California requires a written 3-day notice to the squatter. An unlawful detainer may not be filed until this is done.
• If the squatter doesn’t leave in 3 days, file an unlawful detainer with the court. It’s best to seek professional assistance when doing this. There may be free unlawful detainer forms that are provided online by the court website.
• Make sure the squatter(s) are served with the appropriate paperwork.
  • If the squatter does not respond to the suit, you are awarded what is called a default judgment, meaning the property owner may regain possession of the property.
• Attend the hearing schedule by the court clerk.
• After the squatter has been served with the lawsuit and afforded an opportunity to present his side of the story, a hearing date will be scheduled within 20 days.
• At the hearing a judge will listen to both sides argue their case before issuing a judgment. The hearing usually takes no longer than one hour, and sometimes only 10 min. or less.
• Give the judgment to the local sheriff. The sheriff for a fee will post a 5 day notice. After that, if the squatters have not left the sheriff will forcibly remove them and change the locks.