All Forum Posts by: Amy J. Tsang

Hi Holly,

I have a great do-it-all guy who I've been using for years, both on my personal property and investment properties. He's not the cheapest, but he is dependable and consistently puts out good-quality work. Will message you privately with his info. 

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Long Beach.

Purchase price: $520,000
Cash invested: $80,000
Sale price: $630,000

My first real estate purchase was for my personal residence. It was less of an investment and more of an emotional purchase, but I learned a ton through the process and eventually became a licensed Realtor myself. I recently sold the property and am looking to use the proceeds towards two investment purchases in 2019.

Hi Laura. The four variables of value for selling a home are location, price, condition and terms. You can’t change location and (since it’s a flip) the condition is pretty much set. Price and terms are the two you can adjust still, but given that you are low on funds you’ll want to be strategic about what step to take next. Are you priced accordingly with the down-shifting market or are you trying to capture pricing from 2-3 months ago? Are you offering a good buyer agent commission? A sale comes down to where your home stands on those 4 variables in comparison to other homes in that market. Hope this helps! 

Interested as well!

I used Allied Schools for my RE Sales License as well, and I agree that in addition to it being affordable it's also good for someone who wants to study on their own time.

Other tips are to take a "crash course" the week or two before the actual test date. Several places offer these including brokerages themselves, so if your friend starts interviewing brokerages a couple weeks before his test date, some will offer the crash course free of charge as an incentive for recruitment. I took my crash course for free through First Team, although they also sell the course for $199.

Additionally, search "PrepAgent" on Youtube. He is a RE exam-prep trainer who films his training sessions with his students. They use exact questions from the actual exam. 

505 Cedar has had some great comps sell in the building this year, but be grateful you didn't purchase in 300 E 4th! The HOA is currently in litigation and it's really affected the resale value of those units. As for the multi-unit that you're currently in contract on, how many units is it and would you and your fiance be living in one of them? If so, I'd look at the -$583 per month as really cheap rent for you two while having others pay down the bulk of your mortgage. Also, when you ran the numbers did you consider all the tax deductions if it's going to be your primary residence?

Hi Mark. I'm new to the BiggerPockets forums and just ran across this post on my way down the rabbit hole... 

I've been following the transformation of Downtown Long Beach first hand for the past several years and it's truly amazing how much has changed. It's where I own a condo and also do most of my business, so I can assure you your interest is warranted. I know this post is several months old so just curious, did you end up deciding between 505 Cedar or 300 E 4th? If not, I'd be happy to provide current insights to both as well as any other building in DTLB.