Hello to Bigger Pockets (New Member)

[Shishir Mahajan]

Hello everyone,

I joined bigger pockets a while ago. I have recently moved to bay area for a job and have never been a home owner.

When I see the exorbitant house prices in bay area, I don't feel like buying a house here. I am happy renting for now :)

I am completely new to real estate, and have never invested in real estate (or REIT) myself.

I am looking to use Bigger Pockets to enhance my knowledge and even invest once I have acquired some knowledge.

My short term goal (1-1.5 yrs from now) is to start by buying a studio/1-bedroom apartment in either San diego or Atlanta.

By buying, I am talking about taking a traditional mortgage by doing 20% down and taking a home loan on that. N convert that into a remote (Somewhat automated, so that I don't have to be there to manage the property) airbnb. This way I can keep living/renting in bay area. and get my hands dirty by buying something reasonably priced, and get some exposure to real estate before I can move onto a bigger project.

I would love to hear what experts here think of my plan in gaining some real world (real estate) experience.

/sh

[Dan H.]

As @Kevin Fox has pointed out the STR regulations in San Diego City are currently being evaluated. The proposed regulations want to limit STRs to 90 days/year when not owner occupied. Note this is only for the city but other San Diego coastal cities are having their own debates on STRs. The San Diego cities that are not considering STR regulations are primarily the ones where STRs are not a problem because they are not destination locations.

So I suggest you wait for STR regulations to be worked out before purchasing in San Diego with the hope of having an STR.

We own a single San Diego duplex STR (most of our units are LTR) that has been an STR for over a decade. We do not know what will happen but we would like to think that there will be some sort of grandfather clause but it could be that the new regulations will affect our STR. I have already been thinking about whether it makes more sense to STR both of them 90 days (summer) and LTR them the rest of the year or to "owner occupy" - second residence one unit and rent one unit STR all year and the other STR (the "owner occupied" one) for as much of the year that still qualifies it for owner occupied.

Also prices may drop if the new STR regulations pass which would be another reason to wait on a decision until after this has been resolved.

Good luck