All Forum Posts by: Robert Reynolds

Hi Nick, 

I grew up in the valley by Woodland Hills in Canoga Park and bought my first home in Northridge. I did what you are planning to do. I bought a house, lived in it for 4 years, rented out the other 2 bedrooms and fixed it up as I was living there. I unfortunately sold it though, but used the proceeds to buy my current house in Westchester. I would love to help you with anything you need. It’s a great strategy and should set you up for your future purchases. 

@Kristian Orphe,

The only way I can see that working is seller financing if possible. If you are looking in LA your best bet is to save up $30-$40k and use a FHA loan at 3.5% and then househack it with some friends. Reach out if you ever need help.

Quote from @Jane Kim:

Hi,

I haven't bought any property yet, but I am in the process of it. I'm trying to speak to a few brokers who'd be able to get me a pre-approval letter to see what houses I can afford for my primary residence.

Would love to connect with someone who can consult with me on my debt-to-income ratio for a higher loan estimate.

Thank you!

Hi Jane,
Any lender should be able to help you out. I would recommend going with a loan broker who can shop you around to different lenders to get you the best rate and work with one that is investor friendly. You want to build your team with people who are investors or at least help investors as a primary goal. 

Hi @Russ Maynard, 

Thank you for your service and I love the analogies. I am sure David Greene will steal these to use on future podcasts. 

To help mitigate risk I recommend surrounding yourself with investors. Work with agents that are investors, lenders that are investors, go to REI meetups. The more knowledge and support you have the harder it is to make a bad decision. Also Real Estate is a very forgiving asset class as long as you have some reserves and don't over extend yourself. As long as you can weather the slow times, real estate will always go up in the long run. As you probably know, there are so many benefits to owning that it makes it hard to fail.

My advise is to start small, and work your way up. For most that will mean buy a house, live in it, fix it up, rent the extra rooms out to friends and then buy a new one and repeat. House Hacking is a great way to start. The second best option may be to look at short term rentals. It's hard to cashflow long term rentals right now with the higher rates and high prices in SoCal, coupled by the low rents that you may inherit when buying Multifamily. If you are set on buying multifamily, take your time and look for a completely vacant one. They are hard to find but do pop up from time to time. 

Hope this helps, please reach out for any help. 

Quote from @Catherine Scott:

As a newbie, only interested in Multi Family, suck in analysis , should I put a team together or join a team, looking to join one since I am doing this alone, not sure where to start?

 Think you've found the perfect place to start. The BP forums are a great way to meet like minded individuals. I also recommend attending Real Estate meetups, where you can meet investors in person and pick their brains. Investors are great because we are always willing to help others out, and share everything that we know. 

Quote from @Beatriz Rodrigues:

Just watched episode 527 and feeling so inspired by Pace Morby. I'm personally looking to relocate to the Los Angeles area, specifically Whittier, CA or surrounding areas to be closer to family. With home prices being so high and down payments unaffordable I'm thinking that using a subject to strategy or seller financing might work for my situation. Looking for friends or "battle buddies" as Pace calls them that are interested in looking into this together. Would also love to hear any personal stories on this subject if you do deals in California.

 Hi @Beatriz Rodrigues,

Finding seller financing deals that make sense are hard in SoCal because of the high appreciation. Most sellers want all their money upfront, so they can then reinvest it in multiple properties. There are many low-down payment options that might be a better option for you. I recommend talking to an investor friendly loan broker about 3.5% FHA loans, 80-10-10 loans and the new 2-1-0 option where you can lower your rate for the first two years on your primary home loan.

If you are planning on living in the space or renting that out to family or friends I would be ok buying it. Especially if you are getting a discount on the property since the ADU is unpermitted. After you close on it, I would reach out to the city and get the space permitted, and that should increase the value of the property.

I will try my best to make it. Been looking for a meet up on the westside. Thanks for hosting it and posting it in BP forums. Just bought my first rental in Joshua Tree and am building an adu in Westchester where I live. 

Hi @Marianne Kelsey, 

Sorry for the loss of your father. It was definitely the hardest thing I ever went through when my father passed. 

I would definitely recommend you talking to a CPA to determine your best options to avoid paying taxes. As far as the real estate side of things, it usually makes the most sense to move into one of the properties if possible and make it your primary residence to keep the property tax basis the same. If that's not a possibility I may recommend selling the properties if they are paid off. It will be hard to get a really good return on the equity without selling, because the properties probably have large amounts of equity. I would have to examine the portfolio more closely though to give you the best advice. Let's connect. 

Quote from @Louise Sormillon:

New member here 🙂 Looking to get into STR/ househacking/ single-family LTR (still figuring out our market and strategy). My husband and I know very little about RE investing but I'm motivated to learn as much as I can! Grateful for this community!

 Hi @Louise Sormillon, 

You have definitely come to the right place. Just keep listening to the podcasts, reading the books and posting in the forums and you will gain tons of knowledge about real estate investing.