All Forum Posts by: Ben Howard

All I know is that, as CEO of this company, it was really hard watching influencers and 20-somethings race past me, buying dozens or hundreds of units from 2019-2022. Some of my colleagues and friends bought millions, others tens of millions, and some hundreds of millions (or Billions) during that period.

Real estate is a funny game - it tends to go up, yes, but it does not always go up, and it can go nowhere for a decade or more, as a lot of apartment complex purchasers from 2021 are about to find out. 

Aside from basic maintenance which is simple work, but hard and monotonous work, and keeping the asset positioned to fulfill it's highest and best use, there's nothing you have to do past a certain point to benefit from market appreciation. You just hold it, keep it occupied and well maintained, and let the years roll by. 

The reverse is also true. You can claim to be the best guy in the world at finding and analyzing deals, but when the market turns against you, and you just went all-in, even on the best relative opportunities that market had available at the time, there is nothing you can do to prevent losses, especially if your debt has a maturity date that will force your hand.

Timing the market is an interesting concept. 

Despite what I wrote above, I admit, that I am tempted to go as big as I can, using extremely long-term debt or just by buying real estate with 100% cash, in 2025 and into 2026. Something tells me that the pendulum just flipped, and that just as all these guys who went all in and bragged about their unit count have all seemingly shut up and disappeared, that now is buy time. I'm under contract on a quadplex, fully renovated, at the highest cap rate for a small multifamily that I've purchased in my career, right now. I am buying it for 20% less than the original list price a year ago. 

I see stocks at all time highs, and interest in real estate investing at decade long lows, and I admit, I start to salivate. I sold about half my stock portfolio to purchase real estate here in January.

If it's not time to buy right now, when is buy time? It's certainly a better time to buy than 2021, at least in multifamily!

I am sure I will be very publicly wrong, and you all can make fun of me in two years, when stocks double and real estate prices crash 20% from here, but I just don't know how you can watch this industry, this closely, for this long, and not be raring to go in the current environment. 

 Thanks Jay, theres still alot of slab on grade mcmansion going up from folsom t ok elk grove along grant line road....I mean alot!

Lathrop at I5 and 205 is the same.

Winters is seeing some the same.

Seems los banos n hollister building has slowed thogh

So many apartments are getting finished in the south bay!  Lawrence expressway is a sea of stack n paks.

Youd be amazed how many apartments in campbell too,  Bascom ave is getting gentrified like crazy

@Elvin William 

I think you will find that very little will change and the Seller will still pay the commission for both agents in the vast majority of transactions. Listing Agents will just not be allowed to advertise the co-broke that they are offering in the MLS, but they will still offer it most of the time, it just won't be advertised in the MLS. However, when they don't offer it or they offer something that is less than the Buyer's agent charges then the Buyer can just write in the offer that the Seller is to pay "x commission" to the buyer's agent. I have already seen the new forms/addendums that will be used here in Arizona, the common one for this will be the Seller Compensation Addendum.

The one thing that might happen in your discount buyer agent scenario is you might get a buyers agent who agrees to a lower commission and then the listing agent is offering a co-broke that is higher than he agreed to, well now that buyers agent will only be able to get paid the lower amount he agreed to and the listing agent will keep the remainder, so listing agents could end up getting paid more.

As far as your question on what to pay an agent, I view it similarly to hiring an attorney, there are discount attorney's and they might be okay for some people in some circumstances, or if you know the proper procedures and deadlines then maybe you do it on your own without an attorney. Or just hire the best and have the other side pay their fees for you.

Hello, 

we decided to sell our short term rental property in Sacramento area. 

what will be pros and cons of selling without a realtor? 

we had that property under 2 years and we pay a lot of mortgage. 

If we hire a realtor, we will be paying more than we get from selling it. 

House already has smart lock, clean... Will it be too hard to sell without realtor? Too much work? 

Any opinions? 

Hi Folks - I am looking to invest in multi-family in Sacramento, CA. Which areas should I be targeting?

Mainly looking for appreciation rather than cash-flow.

Hi everyone! I'm from the Bay Area and, armed with some great insights from Bigger Pockets, I'm excited to secure my first rental property. I'm on the lookout for a property in Sacramento County and would love any recommendations for a reliable real estate agent. If you have any tips or can connect me with someone knowledgeable, that would be amazing. Thanks a ton in advance for your help!