All Forum Posts by: Abhishek Banerjee

@Brian Garlington Thanks for the welcome. I've heard about East Bay being better for cashflow as well. However, I'd have to be a quick walk from a Bart for it to be a practical househack, and I suspect those trade at a premium.

Good to know about the FHA offers.

@Aidan W. Thanks for the detailed color, really helpful.

Agree on Benvenue being a fantastic location. The other context is helpful.

In terms of finding out the rents on the units, is the process to reach out to the listing realtor? Do I have to go through my own realtor, or can I just ping them directly?

Out of these three, the Redwood does seem like the best fit. Not just location, but also the current status of the building i.e. move-in ready for me, and the second unit has a decent rental income. It would be even more appealing if I could indeed add another bed and bath in the garage space before moving out, allowing me to rent it as a 2/2 versus a 1/1.

I see your profile says you have a 4 plex in Oakland as well and remodeled 2 of the units. Curious how much work that entailed, and a ball park on what that costs in the Bay Area?

Have you explored ADUs at all?

Do you have plans to expand your portfolio over time?

@Justin Wethington Ouch, that's a painful commute. I know the commute would be bad but this puts some numbers behind it. I assume you're driving, right? And there is no public transportation path that would make it easier?

Pre-Covid, if one were to try and skip peak traffic, how early or late in the morning would you have to leave home? i.e. is 5 am or 10 am better than the 6-8 am window, for example?

What is the registration under rent control for?

Another option (though math may not work) is looking at a duplex in SF itself. Maybe inner sunset / inner richmond has some inventory where it makes sense for us on a practical basis.

Hi all,

Long term BP member but infrequent poster. I currently rent in SF (SoMa) but starting to consider a MF purchase in Q1 using a FHA loan. The idea would be to move into one unit while renting the other(s). I don't expect to cover all of my PITI with tenants, but I'm hoping to be able to reduce my housing expenditure from my current rent ($3.5/mo) while building some equity.

The FHA limit in the Bay Area means I will be looking at roughly $1m as the purchase price. I work in Palo Alto and my wife works in SF. Location will be one of the primary drivers of the decision for us, working remote post-COVID is not an option for either of us.

At this time, I am starting to see what is in the market and developing some thoughts on what would make sense versus what would not. I'm going to list a few options on the MLS today with some of my thoughts, and would love thoughts from the Bay Area veterans on opportunities, concerns, or things to keep in mind. I'm not looking to act on any of these, this is an exercise to help me get better to recognize opportunities or pitfalls when I am ready.

Long-term plan would be to move out in a few years, rent at market price, and keep the (hopefully cashflowing) property.

1. 6414 Benvenue Ave, Oakland

Pro: great location, close to Bart, potential for ADU in the garage

Cons: Long commute for me, priced too low?

The idea here would be to move into one of the three units (assuming one is vacant) and over time, build out the ADU as well. If one is not vacant, with the limitations on evictions, am I just stuck waiting till they all expire?

Any other options here that could be interesting to explore?

If rent is not disclosed in a public listing, is it safe to assume they are well below market, or does it not mean anything?

2. 1508 Jefferson Ave, Redwood City

Pro: Close to Caltrain, looks like good condition. Two decent garages with a driveway at the back - opportunity to add bedrooms in both units / ADU?

Con: Commute for my wife and myself

Listing says both have tenants, but details only include the rent for Unit #2. Does this imply Unit 1 is well below this?

I know SF well. In Redwood City, how appealing is the location? In my mind, proximity to Caltrain is going to drive rental interest, especially with one-bedroom units. Is that fair?

3. 1725 Berkeley Way, Berkeley

Pro: Close to Bart, and I really like this part of Berkeley. Likelihood of garage turning into ADU?

Con: Long commute for me. Condition doesn't look great so needs work. Not sure I want to commit to this much work in my first property. Also, will likely go over my budget if I need to update both units before renting / moving in.

Does not disclose if currently rented or not.

Looking forward to hearing thoughts from the BP community!

@Quentin McNew Thanks for sharing, this is helpful! I read the article you linked to, those are some high vacancy numbers. However, it seems that the properties they referenced in the article are all outside of campus town, correct? In other words, not student housing? You know the town better than I do these days - do you feel the same sentiment holds true for student housing i.e. 10% vacancy rates? Or, has the glut of supply kept vacancy steady but brought rents down?

Your profile mentions you have invested in Urbana Champaign as well - what type of investments are those? How have those fared? How long have you been an investor in the area? 

So excited to see a post on Urbana Champaign, these never pop up! I went to UIUC about a decade ago, and always wonder what kind of a market it is as an investor!

@Matthew Davis Are your Urbana units student rentals, or something else? How long have you had them? Have they appreciated quicker than the ones in Decatur?

@Michael Willard  Hi Mike! Curious about your point of being weary of campus. Having been a student, I lived on the campus bubble. I know Green Street has become a different beast in the last decade, but broadly speaking, what are you weary of? I recognize that Covid has put a different sort of uncertainty in the market but outside of that, what concerns you about the campus in UIUC?

@Shawn Q. Good context! Some of it was true back when I was a student too, but definitely some interesting tidbits. Are you looking at student housing or something else? Where do you think most of the overbuilding is? Is there a segment of the market that you believe still has good opportunity?

@Account Closed Agree on all counts with you re: Urbana Champaign being culturally different. I don't know the Urbana Champaign market well enough, but I have heard that taxes in Urbana are higher. I am comparing to Champaign here, not Rantoul / Decatur. Do you find that Urbana's increased taxes and regulation don't impact your returns due to higher rents (per memory, Urbana had lower rents than Champaign, at least around the areas where undergrad students lived), or that you underwrite it into your math and as long as it works, you go with it? What kind of investments do you have in Urbana?

Looking forward to reading all your responses!

@Minna Folkman Curious how this played out? I'd like to do something similar in the next year or two. The market here has changed drastically in the last couple of weeks - wonder if that gives you more leverage? 

Thanks, makes sense. What about for longer term holds? What do the economics look like? Do you tend to do those at all or are you mostly focused on flips?

@Adrien C. @Scott Steffek Are places like Munster supported by the local economy, or are most people commuting to Chicago? 

Scott, you brought a few towns in Indiana earlier but not Munster - what keeps you away from there?

I've also looked at Chicago but am curious what else is around there.

@Paula Ciobanu Curious to see what you find out and how your experience goes. In the same boat, though looking to make a purchase about 18 months out. I want to invest in the city since I live here, but am nervous about the rules surrounding such a regulated market. 

Hey Whit, out of curiosity, how has your general rental experience in AA been?

Really useful feedback! Moved to Ann Arbor for grad school last year and looking at it as a potential buy-and-hold market (student rentals) after I graduate. My knowledge of Ypsi is quite limited but it does seem that property prices in AA is much higher. Anyone with knowledge of the market care to comment on the differences between the two?