All Forum Posts by: Roy Puli

Quote from @Jay S.:

Good questions Roy. I've some experience in dealing with these properties. Here's my 2 cents:

1. Yes, off course its possible well can dry up. I have an investment which runs on well and I check every year the water level in it. So far no issues but yes it can happen if drought comes to California and no rains for many years.

 2. Depends on the insurance you get IMO

3. Hard to give details here...

4. Some companies like Amerigas have automatic refill of propane - you just set it automatic refill and once they notice its low,  they come and fill it up 

5. Are you on H1-B Visa or OPT? DM me and can guide you through this in terms of Lending 

6. Depends on so many other factors - hard to give you a rate when we don't know your LTV, DTI, down payment, appraisal value, loan term etc.

7. Do what you gotta do man, don't think about everyone!  

8. Few internet companies provide service in those areas 

DM me if you have any questions or need help in Lending. Good Luck out there. 

Thanks for the response Jay! I visited the property and decided not to go forward with it. I didn’t like the road leading to the house and also the close proximity with the other properties. However I learnt a lot about mountain homes in the process and will be more educated when the next one comes along. Appreciate the detailed response!

Hey,

I've been lurking around Redfin for a while now and came across a 2Bed/1Bath in Boulder creek priced at $700,000. In terms of finances, I can make the 20% down. Going through the documents, I see that the house does not have a water or gas pipeline. It relies on a well, and a 500lb propane tank. Since Im not too familiar with mountain homes and the pros/cons that come with that, Im hoping the lovely community here could help me with that. 

Its along the San Lorenzo river. I don't see any major repairs needed(from what I've seen).

Home facts/ questions : 

1. We are always in a drought. What happens when the wells dry up? is that even possible?

2. There was a flood back in 2017 where Felton was flooded. Insurance is a must. Can I expect insurance to cover the damages completely?

3. I see in insurance claims, during the CZU fire, food and hotel stay was claimed. There was no damage to the property. If a fire occurs and destroys the home completely, what happens to my loan, and the land? I don't think itll be livable for a long time to come. 

4. How do peopel refill these 500lb propane tanks? 

5. I earlier wanted to purchase a remote rental property to begin with. But this home has my heart(for now). Maybe after a year I could rent it out through AirBnB. Though I'm not sure if that can be done on my current visa situation. 

6. What interest rates can i expect currently with the feds raising interests? My credit score is around 806 with an outstanding vehicle loan of $5,000. 

7. I still have a day job at a tech company which is about 45 mins away. What do people think of the practicality? Everyone says that mountain home should be a secondary property, but living away from the city has always been a dream of mine and being an introvert, I recharge in solitude. 

8. I wonder what the internet connectivity looks like here. 

What other expenses/issues can people think of that usually come with these mountain homes? 

Sorry for the long post. Appreciate all the love and support!

Thanks!

Originally posted by @Jodi Roberts:

You could buy a primary residence and rent out rooms month to month or yearly to co-workers etc. That's how I got started, and I was able to save cash to buy another property. You could also look for a home that needs some work, make improvements to improve equity and take out a HELOC to fund the next deal.

Sounds like a great idea. Since I have the basement and the outhouse both, I can hopefully find someone to rent them out to. With most of the tech companies going permanently remote and/ or hybrid work models, I think the chances of finding renters improves. Thank you!

Originally posted by @Joe Facenda:

I think you should but the personal residence first.   Get your self settled and them embark on your investing career. 

So do you need to do 20% down on the personal residence?  Maybe a lower down payment will not impact your payment dramatically but will help you preserve funding for the next project.

Thats true. I will look through ways of doing a lower down payment. Thanks for the advice! 

I would also like to add that I am on a work visa and will not be able to rent it out on AirBnb for short term rentals. Added to that, the wait for a Green Card is very long since I have an Indian passport. The risk of having your visa cancelled always looms large. But I guess that risk is the same if I buy a house for personal use or an out of state property to rent out. 

Hi,

Background : I work in one of the tech companies in the bay area. I currently live in a rental unit 10 mins away from work which costs about $1600 per month including utilities. Pre-pandemic this was $2000. So it should soon go up I feel. 

Coming to my finances, I have about $180,000 spread across stocks and cash. I also have about $30,000 in stocks vesting in October. Assuming my performance at work remains consistent I should be realizing about $70,000 in stocks every year. I am not accounting for the cash bonus in this. My pre-tax salary is $150,000. Im single and have been working for 4 years now.

I came across a mountain house which I really like. It has a great view and is listed just short of $1Mil.

I am confused if I should buy this as my personal residence first or should I buy out of state houses, build my passive income and then come back to buying a house for personal use later in life. Since I am an engineer and in tech most of my opportunities are in Silicon Valley and I dont want to move out of here. 

If I do decide to purchase this house, I would be completely out of money for atleast a year after I make the 20% down. The property has an out house and a self sufficient basement that I could potentially rent out. But its secluded in the mountains and the chance of finding a renter is lower as compared to finding a renter in the city(Santa Clara). But I dont see myself investing in out of state rental properties for the foreseeable future unless I jump jobs for a better salary and a hefty signing bonus. 

What path would you choose?

Thanks for any help I can get!