Newbie in West Hollwood from London

[Ben Johnstone]

Hi Everyone,

My name is Ben Johnstone and I live in LA. I moved here from London 4 years ago. My acting career has been going well but work comes and goes. I've always wanted to fill my downtime with real estate but couldn't.. until now - Ive just applied for my Green Card which will allow me to work outside of acting. woohoo

Ive always been obsessed with design and architecture. Im always redesigning the interior of my place, not because it needs it but i love change, and love the process. So I'm naturally drawn to the idea of rehabbing. Im also interested in the business side of finding and structuring deals.

The type of properties I like are usually contemporary with lots of natural materials like wood and stone. Being in LA I'm luckly that there is a big market for Modern architecture and high end interiors. Ultimately Id like to be involved with new construction projects, because as i said I love the design process.

I have a rental in England that brings in $1300/no net profit. I didn't rehab it or anything just bought it at the right time and then the mortgage dropped dramatically when the market crashed. Im looking to sell this property after the summer, so hopefully by then will be in good position experience wise to do some solo projects or decent partnered projects.

Right now I have virtually no experience, lots of ideas and and doing everything i can to meet people in the industry and learn the business. Im keeping my options open with all strategies, researching local properties all the time, mostly just for experience sake, but if the right deal an the right partner(or investor) came along then Id be ready to pull the trigger(after consulting you guys on biggerpockects of course!)

Because of the area I live in (although expensive, at least i know it), the types of rehabs I'm looking at doing for the most part will be high end where I could add value in the 100,000's. I think the market supports this as some 2 bedroom house around me go for 1.5+ and are very hight end, some of them even ultra modern which I love. So I'm looking at places that are usually going to need new kitchens and bathrooms at least, and probably a restructuring of the living area/kitchen floor plan. This may seem a lot to take on at first, but for me personally its where i think i can add value, especially if i get a great deal to begin with!

Great to meet you guys, and so far the response I've had on here has been very welcoming

Take care,

Ben