All Forum Posts by: Seth Borman

Heating and insulation.

Plus a new refrigerator which may be free from your utility company.

The cheapest housing that can be delivered in Southern California is ADUs. A garage conversion is 1/4 the cost of a new apartment and 1/6 the cost of government subsidized housing. Rents are limited by the fact that the unit is in someone's backyard.

 We did that on a house in West Adams. Working with the city was a nightmare. What tips do you have for getting through DBS?

The only thing that pops out to me is vacancy loss. You shouldn't pro forma the hit on vacancy and rent control. The rents are just a little under market rents for well renovated units. You shouldn't have a vacancy issue.

I would use a mini split.

We've had better luck doing higher quality work to get higher quality tenants for more money.

We've turned $600 apartments into $1000 apartments by replacing the flooring and kitchen and adding a mini split.

With properties located in the City of Los Angeles your first stop should be ZIMAS. It has the most relevant info. You'll also want to check the SCEP inspections through HCIDLA. If the deal looks promising at first glance, look up all the permits at LADBS. They sometimes have information at their 211 N. Figueroa location that isn't in the online catalog. The only time I can remember going down there was to get the skinny on a 90 year old SRO that had been modified over and over again.

SCEP is the Systematic Code Enforcement Program.
HCIDLA is the housing department.
ZIMAS is here.
SRO means an apartment hotel, which is usually a hotel with a bathroom and kitchen down the hall. They typically aren't nice places but they are a step above homelessness.

That can be cleaned off in a couple of hours by a guy with a brush, a ladder or scissor lift, and some acid and water.

I don't think that's a big deal.

I wouldn't waive anything until after the inspection, however.

My wife is Venezuelan and her family owns an apartment in Caracas and a farm in the countryside that is 2,500 acres.

It's basically impossible for them to sell for a variety of reasons.

Squatters can take your property there and the government will not stop them. 

You need to consider earned equity/principal payoff. Every time you make a mortgage payment you are creating equity than can be accessed down the road. That's why multi year models are important.