All Forum Posts by: Sejin Kim

Hello, I am a beginner invest and trying to buy single houses where I live. ( sacramento) However, whoever I meet, they say in CA it will be hard to get cash flow therefore it is better to focus on appreciation.

so what is your strategy to invest in California?

Are you getting cash flow or you focus on appreciation.

Thank you so much!

2 Votes

Quote from @Mohammed Rahman:

Hey @Sejin Kim - congrats on the house purchase and your husband's new business!

If you're living in the house, it wouldn't make much sense to rent the whole house out. Additionally, I recommend doing a quick Google search for small business CPA's as most of the CPAs recommended through BP users are mainly geared towards full time real estate investors.

Good luck and wish you both more success.

Thanks! We have other place we can stay with cheap money.

1 Vote

Sacramento, California

Hello, I am looking for experienced CAP who helps with tax report, business, and some tax advising. My husband just started his own law firm, and we bought a house, and we are trying to figure out it will be good idea to rent a whole house or rooms.

1 Vote

Sacramento, California

Hi BP family!

If anyone can give me good idea I will really appreciate that! I want to know what will be smart move.

one income family, married with 2 kids, just bought a house at 790K, monthly mortgage is 5300 including house insurance, property tax. We are thinking either renting whole house I think we can charge between $3000 to$3500 per month. Or we can rent extra rooms ( 5 bed/3 bathroom currently one roommate pays $800) at $600 to 700, so total rental fee will be $1400 ~$1500 from renting two rooms. So if we rent whole house then we will pay less mortgage, however I am sure that we need to pay tax from income from money. If we rent two rooms then we will pay more mortgage, however our income is less so after tax, our net income might be better?? I am not sure. Any tax expert here? Thank you so much!

1 Vote

Sacramento, California

Quote from @Jay Thackerson:

Sacramento is a very good market for rentals as home prices are becoming out of reach for most. The location you described seems ok but watch out for other issues that Ca. is experiencing these days.

Good Luck...

Thank you so much for the advice! That will be my first investproperty. So I still a lot way to go to learn! What do you mean by the other issues CA is experiencing?

0 Votes

Sacramento, California

Hello, BP families!

I have a potential property, in Sacramento area. It's duplex 2 bed-2 bath single story ( I am going to buy only one side) in C category neighborhood. Not a good schools, not very good neighborhood, very diverse neighborhood, crime rates are okay and decreasing. Median home value is lower than CA average value. However I think it has potential. It's just a minute away from highway, good shopping mall in few minutes, hotels near by. Owner is moving out of state, and he put in a market in November but no luck so far. So I think there's a lot of space to negotiate. I think it will be hard to sell, however, it will be easier to rent, even though not a quality renter. So what do you guys as expert think? I will appreciate any questions, advice! Thank you!

1 Vote

Sacramento, California

Quote from @Brian Bohrer:

If you go onto the Airbnb site and build a listing, they will give you an estimate on the rent per night and the expected weekly/monthly income based on your location. I would not completely trust this estimate as I am sure they are going to be a little inflated. AirDNA may give you an estimate as well, but sometimes they make you buy a subscription for the good information. You may be surprised that even in a non-tourist area you will have travelers who would rather stay in your home than a hotel room while traveling!

If you are near a hospital then mid-term fully furnished rental may be the way to go... is there a second kitchen or is there a space to add a kitchenette near a laundry room or anything?

If you can separate the living spaces by adding a well placed door you may be able to live in one portion and rent the other portion out as a short/mid term furnished rental. Then you wouldn't have to worry about your babies! If you go the mid term rental you would definitely want to add the kitchenette so they can cook in the unit.

Well, actually adding kitchenette is quiet a bit money and we will need to spend all of our savings. So what will be our next best option? Renting a house and move out to small apartment?

0 Votes

Sacramento, California

Quote from @Brian Bohrer:

If you are near a hospital then mid-term fully furnished rental may be the way to go... is there a second kitchen or is there a space to add a kitchenette near a laundry room or anything?

Thank you! That's very great idea to separate place and rent it! I think we might do that. Only problem is it's two story house so we'll need to share stairs and the door to go to back yard! Any good suggestions?

0 Votes

Sacramento, California

Quote from @Brian Bohrer:

Hello Sejin,

This is quite the puzzle you have! But I am sure with some advice on this forum you may find an answer or two.

My first thought is what are the AirBnB laws in the area? If the house is not easily divided with separate entrances that would allow you to rent out an entire space, then you may have a great idea in moving into a smaller apartment or home while your husband gets his business running.

That swimming pool alone would get you a premium on your listings!! Look around on AirBnb or AirDNA and see what a 5 bedroom 3 bath 3100sqft home with a swimming pool would rent for per night? I would guess there is a good chance no one else has a similar property with the same amenities so you may have a great opportunity!

I am not sure where you are located, so maybe the pool would not be a big drawing factor at this time. Also the Airbnb market generally slows in cold climates over the winter, so be aware.

Another option would be to mid-term rent the home or a portion of the home for 30+ days at a time. You would still provide furnishings and etc like a short term rental but could get approximately 20-30% more than a long term renter would pay for the same space!

I think selling the house would be a last resort since you bought it so recently. You may find that you would be losing money on your home sale, as the market has been decreasing over the last few months (in most areas) and will most likely continue until consumer confidence is back, which may not be until Spring or Summer. I hope this helps and I wish you the best of luck! Take Care,

Well, my property is not tour area, but still AirBNB will be a good option? There is a big hospital in my town, so I think I can target to traveling nurses, however we have very active 2 toddler boys, so I am not sure if anyone will stay in my house. I agree with you that selling property will be last result. Thank you so much for the advice!

0 Votes

Sacramento, California

Quote from @Tony Kim:

Quote from @Sejin Kim:

Hello, I am just starting studying in real estate. My goal is financial freedom in few years! Now I don't know what will be wise with my property in current situation. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. So, my husband I bought a our first property in October. It is 5 bed/3 bath house about 3100sqft with swimming pool. At that time, he was getting a lot of stress and he wanted to buy biggest house under our budget ( So at least, he has beautiful house when he come back from work! ) . We both were making good money so we were prequalified for 1.1M. Anyways, realtor who I found from Craigslist wasn't very helpful to lower the property even though we were only buyer.Anyways, we bought a house at 790K, just 1k lower than listing price, thankfully, appraisal came back with 815K. Now, my husband has no income. (He is starting his new business and now he is between jobs.) So, now we are only depending on my income. Because my toddlers sleep with us, we are only using one room. We rented out one room at 800. We are paying monthly $5300 including property tax, insurance, and mortgage. Rent helps, however, that is more than half of my income! Luckily, we have no debt besides house mortgage. I thought about renting our house and then move into apartment, however, if we do that, we will just pay few hundred dollars less so I am not sure if that is good idea. Can you guys give me any advice? Should I just sell even though we will lose money or rent it out or just stay here and try to spend less money? What do you guys suggest?

I miss my old town so anyways, sometime, we'll go back to old town anyways. Thank you

You have to run the numbers for each scenario you listed and choose the best one that you can tolerate. But at a high level, I would say your best bet to minimize your monthly cash burn would be to rent each room that you can spare. I would market to Korean Yoohacksengs for either LTR or STR opportunities. It won't be comfortable, but at least you will know that it's a temporary situation till your hubby gets his business off the ground.

Thanks. Well, that's great idea to do STR or LTR, however, the challenge is that there are not college close to my house, and we have two young boys so I am not sure if college student will like that. We are already renting one room and I guess later we can rent one more room later I guess. Thank you so much for the advice!

0 Votes

Sacramento, California

All Forum Posts by: Sejin Kim

Sejin Kim has started 17 posts and replied 41 times.

Post: What is your strategy to invest in California?

Post: need suggestion on renting a house, Any CPA here?

Post: need suggestion on renting a house, Any CPA here?

Post: What will be smart move in tax wise?

Post: Will it be a good property to buy and hold?

Post: Will it be a good property to buy and hold?

Post: We bought a house a month ago, should we sell it or try to rent

Post: We bought a house a month ago, should we sell it or try to rent

Post: We bought a house a month ago, should we sell it or try to rent

Post: We bought a house a month ago, should we sell it or try to rent