All Forum Posts by: Armand Farr

I'm looking to send out a mailer to some multifamily properties in the Bay. Has anyone seen success with mailers? I'm just worried that buyers are too well-informed of price transparency and there won't be any worthwhile deals for sending out a janky hand-written letter.

What type of direct mail would you recommend sending? Hand-written vs postcard vs branded, etc.

Hey guys,

Does anyone have insight into the top brokers for multifamily/investment properties in the Peninsula and South Bay? Trying to get a feel of which firms control most of the listings for potential deals.

Thanks!

@Account Closed - Exactly what I was looking for, super helpful!

Hey guys, I'm looking at buying a multi-family house hack in SJ and wanted to get some clarity on the rent control laws:

1. Does the 5% max rent increase (8% if substantially rehabbed) apply to ALL SJ apartments or just those build prior to a certain year?

2. Is the 5% max rent increase annual or by period? Meaning, could I raise rents on a tenant every month in a month-to-month lease?

3. Can I terminate a tenant's month-to-month lease for the purpose of me moving myself into one of the units (hence househack)?

Thanks for the help!

@Irina Costea this is great info! Ideally my purchase price would be under $650,000 total, but I'd be willing to do a JV on anything up to $800,000 if the deal is worth it. This would probably put me in a duplex or cheap triplex. Are there any pockets within Inglewood particularly notable?

@Diane G. I agree it's tough to find deals in open air. That said, I don't think you need millions to find a great deal. I've had success sourcing deals for other investors through mailers, cold-calling. Just need to be a bit creative and find the niches.

@Shaun Weekes thanks! One other thing I wanted to ask:

If I wanted to put 3.5% down on a duplex, would they take the income of the other unit into account when underwriting the loan? 

For instance, if I was buying a $625,000 duplex, there's no way my debt-to-income ratio would qualify for the whole thing. But if they took the one unit's income into account, I should be able to qualify.

I'm looking to buy my first duplex with a 3.5% FHA loan. Ideally I'd like to buy a property that needs some work - not a complete gut rehab but maybe 20-40k of repairs total.

1. Are there restrictions on the condition of the MFH that I need to abide by? 

2. Can I combine the 3.5% down with a FHA 203k loan to fund the rehab?

Thanks!

I have a similar thing with gifts for family. I put a $100/month balance, but set it so that anything left over rolls to the next month so it averages out.

Hey guys, I'm looking to buy a multifamily prop in LA next year and could use some help nailing down target areas.

I'm looking for an area with the following:

- <$300k/door purchase price (or close, will look for an off-market deal)
- Over 10% CoC return
- Upside for appreciation (not crazy about areas like Lancaster for this reason)
- Ideally rent control-free (or workarounds)

Here's my initial list of areas:

- Culver city (expensive)
- Inglewood (Rams stadium/Silicon Beach trickle down)
- Mid-city/Fairfax
- Pasadena

Not crazy about North of LA (ie: Studio City, Granada Hills, Sherman Oaks)

Any insight into the cashflow potential of each of these areas and target price ranges/door would be super helpful. Happy holidays!

Hey guys - I work full time and I'm looking at buying my first rental, holding it within an LLC.

I know investment property mortgage interest can be a deduction against my personal income (even if the property isn't cashflowing, right?). But are there any other deductions that flow to my personal income?

IE: If I have office expenses, can I deduct them from my personal W-2 and lower my effective tax rate? Or will it only get applied to the profits of the property?