All Forum Posts by: Ashley Mierez

I don’t think that is a blanket statement. There are a lot of investors that are wholesalers and/or buy from wholesalers regularly. Some agents are also wholesalers and/or get leads from wholesalers.

That said, it is an industry that has some grey areas to it from a legal perspective. And, as with any industry, there are some bad actors that have given the profession a bad image.

If you go into it, figure out how you can differentiate yourself. And always  remember to operate with integrity 

I have been successful in the San Diego market mostly doing brrrr.   The local market has never been worse for a buy and hold investor.  This is a combination of the all time worst rent to purchase cost ratio and interest rates that are near the high for this century.   Some traditional buy and hold RE investors have transitioned to flipping.   Those few that are still buying to hold virtually always are doing large value add that virtually always is more than just a rehab.  

I purchased $4m Dec of 2021 and have one unit left to rehab (starting it Dec 1 and my 22 year old son will be running his 2nd rehab - it will be a live-in rehab so slower than we usually achieve).   If you want to see it pre rehab, we may be able to arrange something for Dec 1 (it is in Pt Loma near OB).

I get a lot of off market property listings sent to me.   I am barely looking at them because with my underwriting (that some would consider conservative), even properties below retail bleed cash.   I do see some flip opportunities, but flipping is a job; stop flipping and the making of money stops,

My next purchase is likely to be in a different market with lower profit expectations than I used to achieve in the San Diego market.  If it is in San Diego, it will likely be a sophisticated value add and not passive.

So if you house hack a local property at high LTV, recognize it will cost you significantly more than renting a similar unit. It likely will require years to achieve cash neutral. If you hold it more than 10 years you likely will do great, but in the short term it will be tough. Negative cash flow is difficult especially on more extensive tenant turn overs or when dealing with a PIA tenant.

Let me know if you want to see the unit being rehabbed on Dec 1.

Good Luck

Look up Mark Pattison with Porchlight. He does on-market, off-market, flips, and he is local to San Diego and has a lot of projects going on.