All Forum Posts by: Spencer Hsu

Hi @Yi Chung Chen would love to hear how the bids are coming! Would always like to get good contractors in the rolodex too. Can you share pictures of the home too so people can see what kind of work needs to be done? Is it a full rehab?

People tend to scare themselves off about the market before they get educated so good thing you are here! There are plenty of options for you and if you plan to stay in the Bay Area for the next few years, it's a generally good idea to leverage many first time buyer programs and then decide to buy a 2nd home in the Bay Area or elsewhere depending on your goal. The strategy and calculations are all very different just like picking stocks. There is no right or wrong approach as people generate wealth in various different ways.

It'd be best to just have that in the contract to protect yourself. Of course, confirm your realtor/broker/attorney.

Many have suggested it but do it the right way especially as these homes are not cheap to build. Simply search ADUs and many companies do a full service setup (design, permit, construction). You can reach out to me if you want contacts.

Househacking is the best and first arbitrage if you don't own properties. After that, you can consider the BRRR model but you shouldn't do the reverse given down payment requirements for loans. As an owner, you can leverage low % down programs especially for yourself as a physician which has some of the best loan options out there. I.e. 5% down no MI which is as good as it gets. Many of my clients are 1 year out of med school and can buy a $1.3M home due to their high income and minimal down payment requirements. Reach out if you would like to talk logistics!

The question remains what will happen to the large tech companies that have massive corporate real estate portfolios (and still growing) if they pull back on that strategy. I'm most interested in Google's Downtown San Jose Village as that is planned to have 5 million sq ft of office space. That'll be a major hit for the city and the local economy if that fails to develop after so many years of hype.

Flip a coin as to what happens in the medium term (6 months to 2 years). Short term prices will rise modestly due to a massive inventory squeeze. Long term, Bay Area tends to be a safe haven compared to other markets. Medium term too many things out of your control to predict so don't bother, just be ready to ride it out if you need to. 

Anyone got a good property manager to share that handles Davis?

One of the best investments is simply buying a home, house hacking and renting individual rooms, then trade up for another property either in or out of the Bay Area with the equity gains. Average appreciation in the Bay Area is 5-6% annually over the last 3 decades (10%+ since 2012). 

It'll be interesting to see for sure with renters not being able to pay due to the layoffs in certain industries. Of course, the local dynamics will be different for each area and inventory is still extremely low.