All Forum Posts by: Armand Farr

@Gerrell King welcome! Feel free to shoot me a note - I bounce back and forth between the SF Bay Area and LA + I do some work with partners down here. Happy to hop on a call / grab coffee if I'm in town.

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

Hi @AJ 

@AJ Spileundefined

I recommend avoiding the neighborhoods where gentrification has already started because the prices have already jumped, making it tough to cashflow. Look for the neighborhoods that will be next to change in a couple years. As I mentioned below, look at curbedla.com, urbanize LA, Los Angeles Business Journal and as much content as possible to gain an informational edge on where development will occur and that should be your next neighborhood to focus on. My fiance and I recently purchased a 4bd/2ba duplex near USC (Vermont Harbor area) for less than what it costs to purchase a standard SFR on Crenshaw. Also, look for pulled permits and transactions of larger multifamily properties in your target neighborhoods and you'll identify the larger investors. I've found that larger investors typically have an informational advantage or they have a project in mind.

We have a few flippers in the South Los Angeles area and as the elderly leave their homes and the local turnover increases, we're going to see more RE transactions and flips because these neighborhoods have homes that maintain a  lot of character, they're still relatively affordable compared to the rest of LA, and the commute to DTLA is also really short (it takes us 15-30 minutes to get to DTLA depending on the traffic). Drive the neighborhoods and work your magic. 

We also have a South LA BP meeting every month - our Facebook group (South Los Angeles Biggerpockets Meeting) has meeting updates and we also post the events on BP. Hope this helps! 

Hey Kysha,

Would you be able to share where you found the deal and cap rate / CoC returns?

I'm curious to see what other investors are finding - my partner and I are actively sourcing deals in the USC market.

Thanks!

@Account Closed are you looking at buy & holds or flips? Let me know if you're looking at flips. My partner and I are actively sourcing SFR and MFH flips in the Culver City and surrounding areas - would be great to chat.

@Rohan Desai

How much do you think the townhouse would sell for and how much cash would that give you. Like @Sam Shueh mentioned, that HOA really puts a damper on your returns.

If you could get enough cash out of it, you may be able to get into a duplex and househack it. Or go for 3-4 units in an area without rent control.

Hey Brandon, as with most of the Bay Area, things get pretty inflated in Santa Clara. That said, there are tons of people doing deals, especially off the market. Your best bet to find a deal is to get something that is at a discount and not publicly listed. Whether that’s you networking with agents and wholesalers, or actually going out and sending mail or doorknocking. The Bay Area isn’t like most markets, but that also means that the opportunities that you DO find are that much bigger. Let me know if I can help!

Hey Francois, welcome to BP! Start with the ultimate beginners guide PDF on BiggerPockets. It’s free to download and will give you a great overview of all of the main investment strategies and jargon. Then, go listen to the podcasts. A lot of them. Hear what the successful people are doing. Then, go to your local meet up, and find out what the other guys in your area are doing. Build knowledge specific to your area. Find somebody to grab coffee with and figure out how they are doing it. To save you time, the best thing you can do to get somebody to mentor you or help you out, is to find them a deal or some other form of value add. Let me know if there’s anyway I can help.

Hi all,

I'm looking at a potential development deal in Daly City on a lot zoned R-1. Has anyone applied for a zoning change / variance before with the city? A few questions:

1. How likely is the process to succeed?

2. How long does it typically take?

3. What types of resources should I have ready? (e.g. surveys, drawings, attorneys)

Thanks!

Hey guys,

I'm looking to house hack into a 4-plex, but I'm worried about SJ rent control. The building was built prior to 1979, so it's not rent-control exempt.

If I owner-occupy the 4-plex, is there any way around rent control? I know in some areas, you can remove rent control if you live in the property for 1 year.

@Justin Silverio I currently have absentee owners with 30-100% equity in a very targeted area for 2-4 units. 

My concern is that owners of MFHs will be more informed/educated on the market than SFH owners, so they'd be less likely to respond to mailers instead of listing them on the market. Moreover, I feel they'd respond better to a professional letter than a janky handwritten/fake handwritten font letter.

What are DFDs + what's the best way to get a hold of tax liens/code violations? Would listsource/property radar have that info readily available?

Hey guys - I'm looking to buy a triplex/quad in Oakland and wanted to get some clarification on rent control.

1. What is qualified as "substantial capital improvements" to a property? And does this completely remove any rent control protection whatsoever for current tenants?

2. For owner occupied properties, is rent control fully removed for all units after living in the complex for 1 year?

3. Otherwise, is the standard rent increase still 2%? What other ways can I raise rents on tenants that have substantially under-market rents?

Thanks!