All Forum Posts by: Bhavesh Patel

SPAM - Apparently after the grand deed is signed in your name, that public record is now available to spammers..I got about 4-5 letters in the mail of "dated materials" with copies of that grant deed and a "submit payment of $54.95 to xyz..." for a frame picture of that paperwork. WHOA. Stop. No.

Luckily my real estate agent warned me about this...and I also got a copy of the grand deed in the mail from the county clerk's office...and a warning letter that there would be spam coming to me...

BEDS: Having come from a twin, I finally decided to upgrade a bigger bed and sleep like an adult. Furthermore, this would be my practice in "setting up a room" that would be shown for a rental to a potential tenant...and fitting a bigger bed into a master bedroom is important for most adult tenants. 

Why buy used? You never know what cockroaches, flees, or body fluids are absorbed into it...and on craigslist they are free->$100. I don't need a "nice" bed...I spent most of grad school with my head on a table in the library...so what I needed was:

-cheap

-available fast

-"looks nice"

Turns out the fairly lower end of the pricing is ~$200 for a box spring and mattress in a Full size...add a $15 mattress topper from Target and it's "comfortable enough" for me...then just need some nice comforter covers, 3 sets of nice sheets, and bunch of pillows, and call it a day. I'd say start to finish ~$275 for a full bed with a few sheets and a nice comforter

A full is good, because the rooms are tiny at 9x11 - a "full" bed actually makes the room look spacious, while not having a twin/kids bed. California kings, kings, queens, all too big!

What else goes into a bedroom?

1.) nightstands - CRAIGSLIST $10

2.) lamps on the nightstands - CRAIGSLIST $25

3.) dresser - CRAIGSLIST $50

And that's it...$360 furnished bedroom

Just waiting on the mattress...

Next step: The day I took ownership with the county, my agent walked through the house with me and gave me a list of suggested renovations. 

Front unit: vacant - renovations

-knock out spanish style arches in hallway openings - it's the only remnant of the spanish style in the house, might as well get rid of that too...makes the doorways feel cramped.

-the flat roof looks like a mobile park - ask contractors about making a roofline about the time the roof needs to get replaced (which it will in a few years).

-ask contractors/do research about making the carport a garage

-tons of fences in the back yard "compartmentalizing" each area - knock some down, open up the yard

-gas heater is only facing the living room - consider venting it to other side of wall (into hallway)...or maybe when roof gets done install central air and duct through the roof

-drywall the rear (detached) laundry room...make it a living/storage space, build cabinets above the washer/dryer (to store laundry supplies) and put cabinets/shelves to advertise to tenants that there is laundry onsite. 

-consider kitchen renovation - it's super small

More immediate:

Furnish the front unit, get a roommate.

Furnish - oh yeah, ha. 

Guess what? I have no idea how to do this. My parents (as immigrants) furnished our house growing up, but it never "flowed" and did not represent a "home to show"...more just a home to live in. I was renting a room in a house (that was pre-furnished) and just had a bed and clothes to my name. My first response is to compensate with money - hire an interior designer and spend a ton of money on furniture. WRONG. You can get ideas on design for free...and getting furniture (minus the couch and bed) can be had used from craigslist...because, this is a "business" and the goal is to make it look as nice as possible for as little as possible.

Loan experience: doesn't seem to matter where you go for a loan...most places have the same interest rate/closing cost credits (mine was $1,500), and just vary in their incentive programs. Wells Fargo did not offer closing cost credits, but instead offered a $500 gift card (uh, wut? no! just give me a $500 credit in closing costs). The only major difference I found is the person setting it up for you - when stuff goes wrong in the 11th hour, do they know what they're doing and can get stuff done. 

Real Estate Agent - I really liked mine. She knew my area, knew what I was looking for, checked daily, was always available, and negotiated on my behalf a $4,500 closing cost credit from the seller because "hey, it's free to ask." She taught me to make it just a numbers game, and leave my emotions out of it. It was clear that I was inexperienced, and she helped me to gain some of it. This was unlike a "reference" I had gotten from a coworker for "the best real estate agent in southern california" who just tried to get me to sign a purchase contract (before showing me houses or even asking my criteria) to ensure he got the commission regardless of which agent I bought with. 

Between those two, that's all I needed to get started. After that, she checked listings daily, I did drive-by's for all the ones she showed me (seems like in socal, street-by-street made a big difference), then we wrote offers.

Hi BP,

I enjoyed "build threads" for my dirt bikes...why not for an investment property?

Me: 32/m/healthcare. Moved from MA->CA in 2012 for a girl, got engaged, she broke it off for someone w' more money? cocaine? better looking? dunno...forget her!

Starting renting a room to save $$. Landlord was a real estate agent. She helped me buy.

1 week ago, I closed on a 2-on-a-lot.

I'm a boss now, right?

$580k w' FHA

-front (1948): 2br/1ba, 630sq ft (small!), 1 carport, 1 off-street parking, small front/rear lawn,shed - vacant, lightly renovated, 

-rear (1964): 2br/1ba, 808sq ft,  2 car garage, 3 parking spots, not renovated - occupied

Here we go!!!

So I am in on a duplex - how does the lease transfer work for the tenant that's in the back?

Do I sign a new one with them?

Go over and knock on the door, introduce myself, then setup a time to sign a new lease?

Send them the new lease via mail?

They are month to month

I am hoping to close on a duplex pretty soon in Orange County (within a week or so), what will be tax deductible closing costs?

Reading this - it's likely just interest, taxes, and mortgage insurance premiums

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p530/ar02.html

I am in escrow on a duplex near long beach and am trying to understand what came out of the appraisal report.

What do I look for?

For the most part - the estimated value based on sales/income/cost approach and rental comps are the most important things, right?

Seems like the sales/income/cost #'s are right on what I offered, and the rental comps are pretty much exactly (maybe about $100 higher) than what it currently rents for.

socal, most roofers are booked until March...must be the El Nino thing

checked about 8 roofing companies with the best reviews on yelp and:

1.) most people are booked until march/april/may

2.) had to leave messages in 90% of the contacts

3.) one guy (who said he won't work on it) said he guessed $2,500

I used this tool on google:

http://www.roofcalc.org/

plugged in all the stats to the best of my knowledge, and it calculated $1,900-$2,900...most likely $2,300 though

So I'm guessing $2,500 is right...it would just take awhile to get done.