All Forum Posts by: Shiva Bhaskar

I think starting out (I am newer myself), you should self manage. After you hit several properties, and are looking outside of your local market, you'll probably have to hire people. At that point, use investor referrals (you'll do plenty of networking wherever you invest, and will hear some names again and again), to find someone. I've had great luck with that approach to find contractors and realtors etc. If you keep hearing a market doesn't have any or many good managers, maybe that's a sign it's a place to be careful of. But yeah, I think your grandfather is basically right about this - early on, avoid a PM. 

This is a very interesting question. I think David raised an important question.

As far as Invitation Homes and others, I suppose this is the nature of capitalism. If a company can grow and earn more, and has outside investors backing it, it has an obligation to do so. Obviously, there are limits to how one can go about this, but that's the mandate, in a sense.

But as to your question about families owning four properties each: The number of people who want to be landlords and are as crazy as we are to love this stuff, is relatively small. I am an attorney myself, and have plenty of friends and family, in my profession, as well as doctors, dentists etc. The number of these highly paid, educated folks who have the willingness to invest and spend time on real estate, is very small. They think it's not worth the trouble, they don't have the interest or confidence, tons of reasons.  Same is true with lots of professionals, people who have the means to invest pretty well. 

Also, I think when it comes to scaling up, everyone has their own desires. I'd like to own several hundred doors at least within the next few decades, because I enjoy the challenge of finding and putting together a deal, making things work, and yes, because of the money. I'm also very into charitable and non profit work, and would love to put my money towards helping people and supporting things I care about. There are huge landlords who donate millions of dollars to help institutions they care about, in fact, I'd venture to say most of the rich folks give quite a bit charitably.

But I also know other folks who want a few properties to retire with, or simply to quite their job and live well off rental income and maybe something else....there are tons of personal preferences and goals, and I don't think any are right or wrong. I have a friend whose dad owns quite a few properties (at least several million a year in rental income, probably more), and could buy plenty more, but would rather travel and spend time with his grand kids. I'm sure some of his peers who are still out there chasing deals think he's crazy, but hey, it works for him. They are individual choices, and we have to  make the right choices for ourselves and our families, by being self aware. 

 Clarence, thanks for sharing. I have seen that there are some non rent controlled properties. I agree with you that the part right by Inglewood is good - I have also seen closer to the 110, on the other end of that zip code (i.e. past Normandie towards Vermont), and I think that section can be rougher, but as we know, people are making money everywhere - I'm sure it'll continue to improve in the future. Either way, Inglewood is absolutely on fire right now - I'll always wish I had gotten in there four or five years ago, but I think there's still plenty of upside in the long term if we invest now. 

Hi Charles, I'm an LA guy like yourself (South Bay), and also hoping to move from SFR to multifamily. I actually think Sacramento has good growth potential for the future, especially with lots of SF folks relocating closer to there, and job growth within the city itself. Fresno obviously is a play a lot of people like, but I"ve been hearing about Stockton as well. The city has been through hell (crime, bankruptcy etc), but you are seeing folks from elsewhere in CA moving there, and it seems like things have improved somewhat economically. If cash flow is what you want, worth a look IMHO.

 I don't think there are as many areas in LA that I worry about for the crime issues, as in, say, St. Louis or Memphis or Cleveland. I would avoid buying headaches, which includes, yes, warzones. The only areas I'd really avoid in LA are the Westmont area of South LA (90047), and also the areas a bit north (up to Slauson), and say a mile or maybe two west or east of the 110 freeway. 

A lot of historically bad areas like Compton and Watts have really calmed down and are seeing major appreciation (Watts has been crazy for that the last two or three years), and there can be good opportunities. Inglewood and Hawthorne were never great until relatively recently, and are now hot markets. Depends on what your capital situation is, but I think outside of the area I mentioned above, you can avoid crime as a major issue in much of LA. But, if you really want to avoid risks, West LA, most of the Valley, and the beach cities, are all low crime areas. 

However, if you decide to look out of state, or even in California cities like Oakland or Stockton or San Bernardino, you'll need to think carefully about crime. It is a real issue in those cities, more than in LA. 

Inform the tenant that he was required to disclose this to you immediately, and he needs to get the dogs out of there. If that is not done ASAP, start eviction proceedings. I'm a huge dog lover, including pit bulls, but this is putting your property and other tenants at risk, not to mention, it might violate your insurance policy. 

Hello friends,

There seems to be interest in the South Bay amongst folks here on BP (and for good reason, I think it's one of the most exciting sub markets in the LA area). As a native of the area who moved away to the East Coast for along time, and now being back, I'm very excited to see what is happening, and have a chance to be part of it. 

I thought it would be cool to organize a meetup for folks who are interested in discussing the market, sharing information, getting to know each other etc. Please correct me if I"m wrong, didn't see any other South Bay groups on BP? 

Because I know a lot of folks debate what the South Bay is, as I understand it, we are talking about: Torrance, Palos Verdes (and RPV, Rolling Hills), Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Gardena, Hawthorne, Carson, Lawndale, Lomita, Harbor City, Lenox, and Inglewood. If any of those markets interest you, perhaps this would be a useful get together.

Anyhow, please reply or message me, if this would be something you'd be interested in. Would be great to get together for some coffee, and talk more in an informal setting. I'd love to try to arrange something for late August or September if folks are available. Looking forward to meeting everyone soon! 

I think C areas are solid for BRRR. They are also good in any economy, to some extent. When things are good, the average working class person always needs decent housing. And when there is a downturn, you may get people who would usually live in a B area willing to live in a decent C arrange to save $$. It's a great idea if you have the right deal.

 I like the idea Mike shared, of posting a listing on Craigslist to see what happens. Combine that with talking to local investors for feedback, and you should be good to go. 

 If all of this is correct, she sounds great! It's nice to have one person who offers the whole suite of experience.