All Forum Posts by: Clarence Johnson

$95 is only $50 more than my gardener charges to maintain my yard monthly, maybe he should be listing homes instead for the extra $50

Theres tons of planned development happening in Pedro, that along with the water front development will be great for the area...Jenifer, all of LA city falls under rent control, it may slow but will not stop positive progress...

Great point @KJ L. @Monica McDowell the self sufficiency test only applies to 3-4 unit properties. FHA County limits for LA exceed 1 million, I have sold quads over 1 mill in LA City. Many lenders have 3-5% conventional loan programs that have lower fees than FHA and if your offer/terms are the same agents prefer conventional over FHA due to their being less restrictions such as the 90 day flip rule etc.

@Alvin Uy I think HELOCS are a great option if used correctly, its cheap money. reusable, doesn't impact your rate and term, and they have lower origination cost than cash out refis. At 900k I believe you have enough HELOC funds to do your flips and possibly make buy and hold investments. For my last purchase, some lenders gave me mixed answers on how HELOCS impact your DTI, but there are many who will not count the unused credit against you. If DTI is a concern, run through a few "scenarios" with your lender considering that any property you buy will be income producing and add to both income and debt. DTI can impact your ability to refi, however all these are scenarios that a lender can project and let you know if there is a challenge with your exit plan prior to purchase or rehab.

I have no development experience but 2 clients have built permitted ADU's in adjacent LA (90047), and both were under $130k, with your quotes a 800 sq ft ADU would be $200k. What is your ultimate goal, are you selling the property or renting? Also, whats the current use of the property as I spoke to Inglewood planning officials to inquire about doing an ADU or additional unit on a R2 lot, with the existing use being a duplex, and they gave me a hard no to both.

San Pedro and Hawthorne for buy and holds or LA east of the 110 fwy for flips.  Also, Gardena, Hawthorne, and 90047 LA for flips.

@Destiny Holmes be careful in Gardena, it's a great city and in high demand but I just finished a flip and the inspectors are not friendly. Your acquisition cost looks good but $100k sounds crazy for rehab. Feel free to reach out for more info. How many beds and baths, my 3/2 1200 sq ft projects ARV is about $615k. I have a colleague that just did a flip east of Van Ness that went into escrow in under 30 days.

What are your go to online resources for home improvement products...faucets, lighting, vanities etc.

@Alan Grobmeier brilliant, is your CPA based in Cali?  I'm looking for one who thinks like this.  Cali seems to hate businesses, especially landlords lol.

@Jonathan Dempsey as a consumer I love Turo. I rented a Maserati and took a weekend trip to Santa Barbara with my wife, amazing time.