All Forum Posts by: Ahmed Sublaban

Hi everyone,

I wanted to reach out to the community for some guidance. Please help in any way you can. I appreciate any advice. 

I currently have a STR in Chico, Ca and I have a guest who has reached out on VRBO regarding a long term stay (3 months). I understand the risk with squatter rights and stays longer than 30 days, but hear me out. She is currently on the wait list for a few apartments here, but due to the constant high demand from college students, she is stuck. She is taking care of her mom and aunt (Medical issues) and has 2 sons.

We agreed that she can stay in 28 day increments and that it is a short term stay. I have a strict contract in place which directly states that the guest understands it is a short term stay, that she does not have rental rights due to it being a short term stay, that if she wanted to stay longer, and a new contract would signed and paid up front. 

There's a lot more legal terms in the contract but you get the gist. 

My question is, what is the best possible way to protect myself in case she tries to squat? Would this contact suffice or would California's laws screw me? I have had multiple long term stays without any issues, but I really need to ensure I am protecting myself. She has stayed in the home for only a week so we are early. 

Please let me know the best actions to take. 

(I have called a few attorneys but I wanted to ask here as well.)

@DJ Dawson Thanks man! I appreciate the love.

@Todd Harrington I was pretty surprised as well. I feel truly blessed and hope the situation gets better. Thank you and I hope the same for you!

Thank you @Bonnie Low! It's a wonderful town and I wish I can enjoy the full potential of it. Sadly the virus has struck a lot of businesses down. I cannot wait until it is over so I can really enjoy the fun here!

I will pm you some questions.

Success Story:

I’m 25 years old, and purchased my first investment property on January, 2020. I had to move to Chico from Lodi for my career and I thought it was a perfect start to my real estate investing career. I purchased a property that contains 2 homes on one lot and near the hospitals, downtown, and freeway. I was deciding between renting it to college students, or turn it into an Airbnb. I learned a great deal of knowledge from my previous boss who had over 10 Airbnb’s so I chose that.

First home - 2 bed/ 1 bath home at 900 Sq. Ft.

Second home - 3 bed/ 2 bath at 1300 Sq. Ft.

I live in the first home and Airbnb the second home.

I am a real estate agent so I purchased this property myself, and threw my commission back into the home.

It was listed for 405k and I purchased it for 370k. I put 15% down, and my monthly mortgage comes to $2,100 with taxes and insurance.

My girlfriend and I painted, cleaned and furnished the back home on the weekends, while I trained in Sacramento during the weekdays. We were both tired, exhausted and stressed out, but I knew this would be a great investment and Airbnb.

It has been 7 months (March) since the back home was listed on Airbnb, and it has been amazing. All of our sweat, blood, and tears was worth it.

I average $3,500 per month and grossed $24,000 so far. There is 3 months left and I have a positive outlook for the rest of the year. I currently have over 25 5 star reviews and it’s a hotspot here in Chico.

I love the real estate world and wish I can somehow make this a career, but my current job pays well and helps me gain capital for future homes.

I am looking to buy another single family home with a lot of space and near the College. We would live it in temporarily, and I can Airbnb my small 900 Sq. Ft home.

I’m proud of my accomplishments, dedication and persistence.

If you have any questions, please ask away!

December 9, 2019

The home/s I offered on previously were accepted at a higher price by others which was a great blessing.

Here’s my current update:

After accepting a career that will move me 2 hours away from home, I realized my whole investing plan changed. I accepted a career in Northern California where I will be servicing cities such as Chico, Redding, Red Bluff, etc. I’m extremely excited for this career, a new life, and my investing journey.

I recently made an offer on a duplex, and after some negotiations, it was at a price that worked well with me. I will post official purchase price, and possibly a spreadsheet that shows my expenses and cash flow later on.

For now, I need some guidance and help from my fellow BPers in Butte County.

Any advice, referrals or guidance that you can throw my way as a new investor in Chico would be super helpful. I need some great (inexpensive) inspectors for foundation, plumbing and electrical. Any other recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

I want to make sure my due diligence is done quickly.

I’m a real estate agent purchasing my own home as well, so any advice on that end would be great.

Thank you!!

I just had a huge life realignment, and it’s flipped my plans!

I have been blessed with a great career and will be moving to a more Northern city in Ca.

So here’s my dilemma:

I have been studying the market I’ll be moving into for several months now, and it’s been extremely high. It has slowed down recently and I’m finally seeing some potential homes I can house hack into.

One particular property that I have been keeping an eye on has been on the market for 3 months and it has two properties on one lot.

The front home (2 bed/ 1 bath 1000 sq. Ft), and the back home (3 bed/ 2 bath 1000 sq. Ft). The front was built in 1940, while the back home was built in 2005.

I’m going to talk to the agent soon and want a good series of questions to ask him about the home.

It’s also listed as a single family, but has two homes on one lot. What should I look out for? Besides calling the building department to make sure the home was built legally, is there any any other questions I should ask?

All help would be appreciated!

@Dylan Vargas@Dominic Battezzato

Hey Guys, I am actually moving there in the next year or so for work and currently training in the Sacramento area. I was looking to do some direct mail marketing to help myself find some owner financing deals as it would be easiest, and more personal. I successfully reached a few owners doing direct mail marketing in the Lodi, Ca area since I was planning on living here, but a great opportunity opened up for me in the Chico Area. 

I would love to meet you and other investors in the area within the next year or so since I plan on using real estate to help me retire early in life. 

Thanks in advanced and I look forward to connecting with you both.

@Lesley Resnick

Thanks for the great tips and I’m excited for your updates!

I did hear from a few flippers in my city that the workers from Lowe’s/Home Depot would pick any materials whether it looked good/bad/chipped/cracked. It is a a huge time saver, but be sure to let the contractors know that any material that looks damaged be put to the side so you can return/exchange it.

They’ve had lazy and terrible contractors rehab with broken materials.

Just a quick tip!

Good Luck

Congratulations! Amazing description and it was nice to see the lessons learned.

Hey Wesam, I appreciate you writing about your frustration regarding the troubling tenants. California is definitely a tenant friendly state, and there are many rules in place. 

These resources were kindly provided by @WesBlackwell.

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/overview-l...

http://www.hcd.ca.gov/manufactured-mobile-home/mob...

https://www.american-apartment-owners-association.org/landlord-tenant-laws/california/

Here are some resources for you.


If you are in a popular location, consider doing vacation homes. It is a little more hands on regarding the communication and booking requests, but I find it much easier, and simple. Guests are in and out, the return is usually 1 - 2 times the amount, you are able to fix any issues after check out, and block the calendar off when you need to. Basically you have absolute control of your property. The downside is the time investment needed, constant attention to guests (Usually a greeting, and a checkout message is needed, but sometimes small issues occue such as being locked out, supplies running out, light bulbs etc).

I wish you luck and be sure to follow the great advice the BPers have offered. Even if some comments are more aggresive, take a step back to understand their perspective (Which I see you doing already).

Great work and keep it up! Keep us updated. I will be following.