All Forum Posts by: Ari Archer

hi nik–

i'm in oakland and interested. shoot me a message.

@Ryan Landis do you use the basic or plus program? 

Hi–

Lots of acronyms in that title. Sorry.

I'm based in the Bay Area and looking for a fee-based financial planner who understands real estate. It is essential that they're fee-based as I'm not looking to sold on anything and I don't want to hand out points on my portfolio. They don't need to be in the Bay Area per se, but they do need to understand California taxation. Any connections would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

@Jackie Lange hi jackie! thanks for all the info on panama. what resources/approach would you recommend for investing from the states? i would love to take a trip down at some point but would need something relatively turnkey as i'd be a 7h flight away. i have a friend with a few coffee farms around boquete and would be interested in that or really anything that would be a solid investment, not a massive tax burden for a u.s. resident, and potentially a way into a 2nd passport. any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

I'm working on my first set of leases and wondering if any landlords in California can tell me which lease addenda they use. There appear to be a ton of them – everything from bed bugs and renters insurance to smoking and outdoor grills. I imagine some of this depends on how detailed your actual lease agreement is. So far I'm using the standard CAA lease. 

I know one of the tenants smokes and two of them have barbeques, so I imagine I will do these ones. Any others you recommend?

Thanks!

Hi–

I just bought my first rental property – a 4plex of 1/1s in the Vallejo, CA area. I'm inheriting 4 tenants, 3 of whom are month-to-month. I'm looking for the best way to get the 3 month-to-month tenants up to reasonable rents. There is no rent control. Should I offer them financial incentive to sign year leases? Should I get them on my leases instead of the previous landlord's?

Some background info:

• Unit 1: $1150/mo – upper unit with view, some recent renovations. on year-long lease ending 11/17.
• Unit 2: $775/mo – upper unit with view. month-to-month, tenant since 9/10.
• Unit 3: $800/mo – lower unit. month-to-month, tenant since 7/14.
• Unit 4: $775/mo – lower unit. month-to-month, tenant since 5/11.

Unit 1 i'm happy with.

Unit 2 looks like the biggest opportunity for raising rent. in it's current condition, it looks like i could get 875-950 for it. after some updating, i could get 1100-1350 for it.

Units 3 and 4 could probably max out at 850. after improvements i could get ~1k/unit.

If they are good tenants i would like them to stay. I certainly appreciate the longevity. any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hi–

I just bought my first rental property – a 4plex of 1/1s in the Vallejo, CA area. I'm inheriting 4 tenants, 3 of whom are month-to-month. I'm looking for the best way to get the 3 month-to-month tenants up to reasonable rents. There is no rent control. Should I offer them financial incentive to sign year leases? Should I get them on my leases instead of the previous landlord's?

Some background info:

• unit 1: $1150/mo – upper unit with view, some recent renovations. on year-long lease ending 11/17.
• unit 2: $775/mo – upper unit with view. month-to-month, tenant since 9/10.
• unit 3: $800/mo – lower unit. month-to-month, tenant since 7/14.
• unit 4: $775/mo – lower unit. month-to-month, tenant since 5/11.

unit 1 i'm happy with.

unit 2 looks like the biggest opportunity for raising rent. in it's current condition, it looks like i could get 875-950 for it. after some updating, i could get 1100-1350 for it.

units 3 and 4 could probably max out at 850. after improvements i could get ~1k/unit.

if they are good tenants i would like them to stay. i certainly appreciate the longevity. any advice would be greatly appreciated.

@Scott Weaner and i quote: "oral copulation with a minor age 14 or younger"

Hi–

I'm in contract on 4plex in northern California. After checking the Megan's Law website, I found that one of the tenants is a registered sex offender. Their offense was in 1994 and they have been in the property, apparently without issue, for 10 years. I brought this information to the seller and they had no idea. Doing my inspection, the tenant would not allow access to his unit claiming he had no knowledge that inspections were happening. The seller's agent clearly said that all tenants were given notice. All 3 other tenants knew we were coming. I'm now rescheduling a viewing of this unit. Seller had only owned the property for <2 years. Also, important to note that the newest tenant, who is great, has a 7 year old child. 

Now, I'm a believer in second chances and that everyone needs a safe place to live. I also don't want to have this knowledge hanging over me. I'm curious to know how people would proceed. Ideally I would like the tenant with the child to at least know what's going on. Considering I don't currently own the property, I would also like this information to be disclosed before I take ownership. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

@Jeff B. right. maybe a fair offer is just appraisal value minus deferred maintenance.