All Forum Posts by: Shiva Bhaskar

Hi Erin. We invest in multifamily in LA (admittedly, very different areas than this one), but I have a few thoughts. I think this is a pretty decent deal if you are planning on staying for the medium to long term (at least 6 or 7 years). 

You'll see some rent growth during that time, and I think the generally positive trends in the area thanks to Silicon Beach etc will continue. You can find house hacks with a little more "meat on the bone" in other areas (think Leimert Park, Inglewood, some parts of northeast LA still), but if this is an area you like, I'd go for it. 

We host a local multifamily meetup online, and will likely have a guest on to talk about house hacking soon - feel free to add me here on BP and I can send details of the next meeting. 

Welcome, Danny! Keep learning. Attend some meetups if you can, and learn from other folks. Combine that with what you're reading, and go out and try to make a deal of some sort happen. It takes time and effort, but so many have done it before. So can you. You've got youth and energy on your side now, so go for it! 

Hi David, I'm an attorney and landlord (though my focus is not landlord-tenant issues). What I have stated below is not legal advise, as I am not representing you (have to give that disclaimer). A few thoughts on this:

1. If you can obtain a judgment against this tenant (whether Small Claims or Civil) that will be helpful. Keep in mind that, to be frank, your chances of recovering any money from this tenant is fairly low. However, with a judgment in hand, you do have leverage. This will show up (probably) on tenant's rental screening reports, and can make it difficult to rent. If he or she ever goes for a job with a credit check, an unsatisfied judgment will also cause issues.

2. With this judgment in hand, it might be possible to garnish their wages, or levy their bank account. That will likely require the involvement of an investigator or someone who can locate them. If you have their SSN and DOB, that will help a lot. 

3. Judgments don't directly appear on most of the 3 bureau (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion reports). However, the judgment can be turned over to a debt collector, who can report the debt to credit bureaus, and that will get the tenants attention. It will also help future landlords avoid this headache. 

4. The law firm of Kimball, Tirey & St. John does report to credit bureaus, and has other strategies to help landlords collect debts (i.e. they can probably help you with garnishment etc). Many large landlords in southern California use them for debt recovery. I have no affiliation with them, and have not used their services, but quite a few people seem to use them. Pacific Credit Services in northern CA is another option, though they are not a law firm, so I doubt they can do as much.

5. Either way, a judgment is a good place to start. It gives you some really meaningful leverage here. 

You've got a super cool background, and a lot of things that I think will come in handy in real estate! I am an active investor in LA and have a few thoughts

1. You could look into house hacking the rooms in a house. Most people take house hacking to mean buying 1 unit in a 4plex, and rent out 3. If you buy a house and rent out rooms, you might be able to partially house hack. Though, your current setup in Marina Del Rey sounds cooler than any house hack I've heard of :-) 

2. If you are looking to apply the buy and hold strategy, you will need to build up capital. Not bad to save up money for a run down property and fix it up and refinance. It is possible in LA, though you'll have to spend time looking. One option is to do some flips or wholesale deals, and build up some capital to get into a good buy and hold.

3. Consider investing in someone else's deal, i.e. a joint venture or syndication. You'll need to do your homework on whoever you work with, but it's a great way to get started in LA investing without having as much money.

4. Network! The more folks I met, the better I understood investing strategy, execution etc. I co-host a meetup for folks who are interesting in LA multifamily investing, and LA real estate more broadly. Feel free to DM me and I'll share a link, and we would love to see you at future events. It's all online for now, but hopefully we can get back to in person once COVID is under control. 

Hi Edward. Am an attorney myself, but don't handle this type of work. I have a buddy who is a great transactional attorney, and does a lot of this sort of thing. Happy to DM you his Yelp page and website, and you're welcome to reach out. 

Hi Darryl, we're active investors in LA. I have a couple of great mortgage folks I know. Happy to DM you info if helpful. Also have an agent who might be able to help with this sort of property. You'll have to speak with him about whether he handles your target areas etc, but he's a great person and knows is stuff. 

Yes please. In LA and happy to link up anywhere in LA or OC. 

I will chime in. 

@James Mercure and I were both rental agents in New York City many years ago. In NYC, you get a lot of rich international college students, United Nations folks, people who moved to the US for a high profile job etc. These people can show several years of rent in bank, employment / school enrollment etc. 

Many high end landlords would accept a year of rent since they have NO credit score yet. When most of these folks went to rent the next place, they had built some credit, and did not have to provide a whole year upfront again.

So, this is a very niche situation, but I asked the leasing coordinators, and they indicated these were generally great tenants. I think MOST people paying a year up front do not fall in this bucket though. 

I should note that they would never take someone with bad credit, rent paid upfront or not. Also, I suspect an American citizen with no credit would have been denied by these guys also. Could be a fair housing issue there. 

Have been following this closely. I'm an attorney, though landlord-tenant law is not my focus. The reality is that you'll see court challenges to this ruling, working their way through different federal courts. 

I could see different judges coming to different conclusions. For example, a judge in the 9th Circuit (West Coast) might say one thing, one in the 5th Circuit (Louisiana, Texas etc) might have another ruling, and another in the 2nd Circuit (New York and Connecticut) may have yet another opinion. 

These will get appealed within those circuits, and the panels of judges who hear the appeals in different circuits may reach varied conclusion. So, you could have the 9th Circuit saying that the ruling is proper, and the 5th Circuit says it is not. Effectively, this would mean a landlord in Texas (5th Circuit) could evict, but one in California (9th Circuit), could not.

At that point, this is ripe for a Supreme Court ruling - if they agree to hear it. Which way will the court go? I don't know. 

This court has been seen as more conservative, but I could see them saying that the pandemic was a unique situation, and thus limiting the rights of landlords. I do think if they try to extend this thing indefinitely, the court will have issues with it. 

Now, when multifamily and other commercial landlords resume foreclosures, this will become an issue. Landlords will argue against foreclosure because they could not pay mortgage due to government interference. Will courts accept it? Maybe? 

Or, perhaps they will sue government if foreclosed upon, because the foreclosure resulted from a government action that hindered lawful operation of the business. This will be a very interesting decade for real estate litigators.  

$1,000,000. I can use the money to build wealth through stocks and real estate, and yes, generate passive income that way. I also worry that if I had $120,000 in passive income each year, at this stage of life, it would dull my drive to work hard and keep getting after it. In 15 years, sure. Today, I enjoy chasing opportunities and making stuff happen.