All Forum Posts by: Aaron K.

It depends on the title and escrow companies but in my experience its less than 6k.

@Michael Ndjondo makadi  In California it is very uncommon to sign an agreement like that in my experience, also I would be very concerned about the 6% because most California deals come nowhere near that for commission for buyer's agent only.  I would interview other realtors who have experience with investors.  From the way you describe it sounds like the agent is trying to make you an exclusive client through a contract rather than his/ her hard work, expertise, and respect.

Zillow's rent Zestimates are wildly off in my experience, if you are working with an agent they should be able to pull rental comps off the MLS. You can also ask a local property manager their opinion and that will most likely be the most accurate.

1k per month cash flow in Inglewood is amazing you might even pull some SFR comps to show your parents that it is basically impossible to get that type of return in Inglewood if they bought today.

@Jaime Paniagua I have not personally used these services so I don't know for sure, Lending Club has default numbers on their website, and I'm not sure about Realty shares.  My best estimate is that they are riskier than savings accounts (obviously) and less risky than the stock market.  Research is key and try to find testimonials from a number of places before you invest.  Also you might try investing with the minimum allowed to see how it works and work up from there.

@Jonathan Safa Correct me if I'm wrong I assume you are referring to the cities in Southern California, from time to time I'll see something good up that way.  Also San Bernardino County had a tax auction 3-4 months ago and there was a fair amount of mountain cities inventory. reach out if you would like to discuss further.

 As far as the stock market goes your money is at significantly more risk than a savings account and it is very volatile in the short term however over long term (10+ years) low cost index funds have proved themselves reliable, unfortunately this isn't a feasible time frame if you are saving for a down payment in most cases.

It depends on how far away you are from having the money for a down payment, you might try peer to peer lending like Lending Club or even something like Realty Shares where you have less control over the real estate but a lower barrier to entry.  However, if you want to avoid all risk to your principal there aren't a ton of better options than savings accounts and CDs.

As Carlos mentioned above City-data.com really is amazing and it gets down to that block by block level with its data.

@Alexander San Long Beach will be much cheaper than Orange County for multifamily properties. You might look into an FHA 203k that has the benefits of FHA while also allowing you to rehab a property because many properties in Long Beach may need significant rehab.