All Forum Posts by: Robert Marston

Welcome to BP! I'm in and out of Alameda all the time, my wife and I want to move from San Leandro to Alameda in the next year or two! $799k for a 2-bed condo seems pretty high to me, even in Alameda. I saw a 3 bed 2 bath on Broadway yesterday that was priced @ $650k-No idea if the building is VA good but the unit looked nice!

There isn't much inventory in Alameda currently, if the past few years are any indicator I wouldn't expect to see this change anytime soon either. Best of luck!!

Your HELOC will prob have a variable rate which if you extend it for a long period will make calculating your bottom line harder the longer that is extended. (Rates fluctuate, so in three years it could be ??) I think the HELOC is a great mechanism but most people do not understand the variable rate and draw periods. Just know that HELOC is a variable rate, has a draw period where you can use the money(Around 10 years), some require Interest only payments during that draw and at the end of the period the loan is amortized.

Most HELOC will not take you above 80% LTV-I've heard some say they get 90% plus, please be safe and do your research when leveraging that high! =)

In my opinion cash flowing while house hacking in California is a feat in itself. I am not aware of the rental market you are looking in but $1,200 for a 2/1 in most California markets is low, Square Footage being a big variable here. I see situations like this as a way for you to build yourself positive equity and future security while paying less than the market around you dictates. Meaning you'd be living in the area you want while paying below market rate and building equity!

If Rents covered your expenses AND cash flowed positive for you while you are occupying a unit then yes, I'd consider that a pretty good scenario at least in my market, the SF Bay Area!

Hey @Dylan Grabowski utility statements are something you can commonly ask for in escrow on multifamily, the various companies are unlikely to tell you much about the subject property however the information is easy for an owner to get so it's not a burdensome request. 

Property taxes and special assessments vary around the bay, I think it is by zip code!

The statistics are vastly different by neighborhood and in the past things have moved around enough per quarter to definitely make it worth your time keeping an eye on! Our price points are so high that knowing if you need to be offering 105%+ to win or if 98% is winning can mean $40k+. =)

SB 1069 and AB 2299 eased regulations and costs associated with adding units to a single or multi family zoned area in Jan of 2017. I do not have practical experience with these changes yet but in general it should make the process easier and cheaper than historically!

Pretty sure I saw the subject home a while back with another client based on what you've shared.. I didn't see the occupied unit either. The sewer lateral was last tested in 2015 according to reports available and at that time the line from the city sewer to the curb was damaged, this is about 25 feet. No telling what the last two years have done. Generally this cost is being split ~50% between buyers and sellers, negotiate! More times than not a deposit is made with EBMUD and the job is able to be done out of escrow and paid out of escrow, variables and location dictate this. Your agent will be able to give you the low down!

The license fee you describe is the fee that Oakland charges all landlords! I believe it is $13.95/$1,000 collected in rents plus $88 start up fee. Research this! 

When you are in escrow you can ask for utility statements for X period of time, PG&E allows clients to download these so they are pretty easy to get your hands on in escrow. (Great way to get an idea of the energy efficiency in these places too!)

If the vacant unit has been idle for a while the utility cost may reflect only the 750 sqft operating expenses. $540 is low. My gas bill last month alone was $290--It's been cold! 

Property taxes will be high, 1.365%

94606 is favoring buyers currently with an average market time of 45 days and homes selling @ ~97% of their listed price. This market has been hovering at 99-101% of list price so you shouldn't have to factor in a huge bidding war when looking around this zip in the next month or so!

If you cash out your primary residence to invest in your second property make sure you do not cash out so high that you are not able to cash flow on the property once you move!! If you Cashout you'll probably be paying a higher interest rate than you are now (I'm assuming here, I have no idea what your current rate is), your insurance costs on the property may go up a tad and you'll have some closing costs, ensure you are counting for that!! A HELOC should be explored in addition to a cashout, lots of variables here as to what the best route is.

I wouldn't put much weight into the neighbors, this is common and as investors we build thicker skin as we go forward via pesky neighbors and tenants. =)

I would recommend your plan involve you not paying MI on your new purchase, so coming in with 20% down + would be my advice. There are other lending tricks that can avoid MI while bringing less than 20% to the table but I'm not an expert on this, I can point ya in the right direction to learn more if you are interested. 

Here are some quick numbers for 94609, I am averaging every sale in 94609: Feb 17' the average cost per SQFT is $549. That's down 8.8% from Jan 2017($602) and down 10.9% from Feb 2016, which was $616/sqft. Feb 17' time on market was 45 days, that's up 150% from 18 days in Jan and up 309% from 11 days on in Feb 2016. Homes in Feb 17' were selling for 107% of the list price, this is down 7.8% from Jan 17' and down 13.7% from last year. The median sales price is currently $853,000 which is up 20.8% from last year, which was $706k. Your Highest exit in the last year was $2,050,000- Lowest exit was $387,500. 

Thanks for sharing here, I shared this for all of my California Realtor friends so we can be on the look out for this moving to our region! Super glad you caught this before you got your monies taken.

As we say it here in the SF Bay Area: "Hella good lookin' out!" =)

In my opinion, anything in East Oakland currently is going to be purchased with Appreciation in mind. Cash flowing is possible in East Oakland but as a whole rents are high, property conditions are less than high dollar surrounding area and the towns in East Oakland do not have the large draws that those in West Oakland and Lake Merrit have (Hecka good Food, theaters, shopping centers with more than a KFC, Mattress store, LIQ and Cash for Titles--This is shifting, though!). 

East Oakland Multi-Family(Zip: 94601, 94603, 94605, 94621) homes are currently staying on the market for an average of 29 days and are selling for 103-105% of their listed price. Towards the end of last year we were looking at 5 months of inventory, Jan and Feb have wiped most of that clean, we are at 1.5-1.6 months now. 

Single Family is 38 days on market currently and selling 102% of list, ~ 1.3 months of Inventory.

At present my past clients are sharing with me their issues of petty property crime being committed in East Oakland, this is something you would want to factor into your hold costs for a few years while the neighborhoods continue to "Gentrify". 

Fruitvale is a neighborhood that is close to BART and has enough personality to be a large East Oakland draw as it grows. The growing process is tough for all cities and everyone has to grow with them, this doesn't always happen fast! West Oakland took off in less than three years, I think Fruitvale will take a tad longer as affordability takes its squeeze but this is one area I would suggest you doing some research regarding holding for long term wealth!

Feel free to ask any questions you have! =)

Hi @Nick Thurston, I'm excited to hear you are looking to house hack a deal in the Bay! This is a tough market so as others have pointed out so having your pro's lined up ahead of time is a great idea, this will hopefully allow you to get your deal closed up quicker, which is something sellers here in the bay are becoming accustomed to. If you are interested in interviewing Real Estate Professionals I'd love to toss my hat into the ring!

You are shopping in an area where there are deals to be had but it is quite a large area for recommending the top inspectors and GC's for. Also, we are already getting into moving season here so inspectors and GC's get booked out pretty far, having a good backup that can get your inspection done on time will be something that you should consider looking for as well.

Appraisers will be hired by the bank that finances your deal, unless you are coming in all cash you won't have much of a say so here. You'll wanna hook up with a lender that has experience with investor deals in hopes that they have the right appraisers on their call list. @Chris Mason is a smart lender that is active here on BP and has provided me with favorable appraisals in the past, he would be worth hitting up when the time is right for you to interview lenders, if applicable. =)

Let us know of your specific questions, best of luck!!