All Forum Posts by: Deanna O.

If the year was 2010, and RE was undervalued, with cash highly sought after I'd say "maybe". Current market, with cash everywhere fighting for a safe harbor, bidding wars, etc? Oh HECK no! You could lose $75k in equity in the next year if the market goes sideways. 

People are always eager to "get into" or "do something" in RE without the foggiest idea of exactly what it is that they want to do (and let's not even get started on whether they know HOW to do that "something"). A decent-paying job will let banks lend to you. Ideally you also learn other things in College--and possibly the most valuable things you learn won't be in your major. I'm in a tech career, using skills I learned in College. My major was in Art.  

What prospective bosses will ask ;

Did you go to college? Where? Graduate? Major?

What they will NOT ask; GPA, hobbies (unless it's a sales job)

What the person hiring you wants to know is can you do the job. What they REALLY want to know is if you can solve their problems without BEING a problem. That's actually pretty much it. College degree means you know how to get yourself out of bed, get to class, and learn stuff on your own. It means you have enough discipline and focus to see a project through to the end. Hopefully, somewhere along in the process you learn decision making, and collaborating with others. Optimally, you also learn the technical stuff in your degree. 

Your CPA should know what they are talking about (that whole license thing), but not every CPA specialized in RE -- sometimes a consultation with a RE attorney or RE tax specialist is worth the $$$. There might be other ways to accomplish what you want. If this relative is a senior, make sure you don't run afoul of elder abuse laws or medicare claw-back timelines. You have your RE license, so courts are super-critical of anything that looks like you are taking advantage of anyone (even your Mom).

It's like musical chairs -- if the music stops, will you be OK if you can't sell?

I don't think I'd take on anything in this current market that I couldn't keep as a rental (even if it doesn't cash-flow, could I hold on with minimal bleeding). This current RE market spiked suddenly, and it could tanks just as suddenly (might not, but it COULD). 

10% cash-on-cash in San Diego? Not bloody likely. Dinky homes in dubious neighborhoods go for about $500k. 

I have a feeling that while the seller might WANT to keep the earnest $, and might try to bluff into to keeping it, that email might qualify as notification "in writing" for legal purposes - worth asking your lawyer.  Make sure you keep a copy of the email you sent, with all of the digital info proving when it was sent, & possibly in several different format. Make a PDF or JPG of a screen shot showing the time sent, and probably a hard copy print out wouldn't be a bad idea either-- all of this is likely overkill, but not bad practice for "just in case". 

Any chance that you EMAILED them anything before the 9th? That might be "written". Me guessing from CA. Does sound like your lawyer didn't do you any favors though. 

Gilroy/Half Moon Bay, etc are not particularly commutable, but easily drivable. Sonoma has some places up in the hills that are surprisingly reasonable, but fire is of course an issue. Again, drivable, but miserable if you have to commute. Santa Rosa used to be overlooked, but that might have changed in the past few years.

@Sean Resavy I wouldn't NOT buy in Benecia if I found something affordable (though Vallejo is MUCH more likely) but I'd consider all kinds of non-standard things too -- probates, owner rent-backs, location mismatch (ie residential surrounded by warehouses), industrial conversions, non-financeable (no foundation, "functionally obsolete" ie 1bed/1ba, 600 sq ft) etc. For me it's all about the space Personally I'd love to find an old hotel to retrofit for co-housing, but that's just me. Older areas do have all kinds of odd housing tucked away in weird corners -- permitting & legality are whole different issues that have to be considered, but if that makes it affordable... . Given the military history of the area I might find out if any of my friends have a Geiger counter though LOL. 

Maybe Vallejo, on the Benicia side? Possibly even Benicia itself. I'm not sure how eager I'd buy to buy right now though; the market is all squirrelly right, with values spiked through the roof due to short-term market forces (some driven by $, some by emotion). Look at the 100 year INFLATION-ADJUSTED Case-Schiller index to see how far current prices are outside of reality. At some point they will stabilize, though we could a have a serious inflation period before that happens. If you buy a larger house that you can rent rooms out or functionally split that might put you in the best position long-term (though be honest about how good you are with people -- landlording is a very people-oriented service business). 

 She may be under the impression that she MUST move (because of the wording of your lease) but unable to find a new place. She can't tell you what she doesn't know-- when will she be moving? When she finds a place. You are good through the end of the month though.

Quite frankly, I ONLY do month-to-month. Happy tenants tend to stay until they have to leave for some reason (ie job change), and if there are problem tenants I don't have to wait until the end of a lease. 

Ps- I've lived in a (non-student) co-housing situation (ie roommates) for over 20 years. REALLY helpful to have housekeeping of some sort for the common areas ("everyone's responsibility is nobody's responsibility"). $30 of rent is housekeeping -- you can either earn it back at $15/hr or let someone else do it. PM me for more details if interested.