All Forum Posts by: Carlos Ptriawan

> next I will be surprised if you can add a ground up ADU in Bay Area at $200k unless you do some of the work.

Maybe I'm too optimistic here at $250/sqft. Also from doing some reading, it seems spending $200k doesn't add $200k to the home valuation, so that's a big negative.

> It appears you purchased in mid 2020. The chart shows ~$200k gain. Selling costs will consume about 50%. Maybe $120k profit . Prop 13 is likely saving you over $150/month and if you loan us from 2020 it is likely less than half of todays rates. I would hate to lose the lower rate loan and not be thrilled to give up the prop 13 savings. What would you do with the proceeds of the sale?

Bought in 2018 and have over $500k in equity (through principle pay downs and appreciation over time). My loan rate is at 3% which is pretty sweet, but still doesn't help enough with the cashflow situation. If I sell, I'd probably look to reinvest it elsewhere (probably out of CA) for combination of cashflow (or break even at least) and appreciation.

If I do keep it, the only other way I can think of improving performance is to add another bathroom (becomes 3 bed/2 bath) or another bed and bath (becomes 4 bed/2 bath). However, this is pretty much doing a BRRRR now which I've never done, don't have the time and is capital intensive (plus, I'm out of town) which doesn't seem too appealing.

While I could just weather out the cashflow and bank on the appreciation over time, I feel my return on equity is poor, and that equity can be put elsewhere to be more productive.

Curious to hear folks' thoughts on the recommended approaches for markets where home values are on the higher end. Trying to get started in the real estate investing space, and I live in Seattle where home prices are quite high (at least, in my opinion). I've heard flipping might be a good place to start, but would love to hear about people's opinions and experiences in these types of markets. What tends to work, watchouts, etc...

Thanks in advance!

AI can only create a synopsis, it's not real for forum purposes. For example, it would pull a ton from this thread and think it's as much about the subject of fragility as it as about what to do as a new investor and that would not highlight the correct content. Using AI for new investors is a rabbit hole that will hurt most because they want it to tell them everything and as we said, it's a great starting point, but not the end game.

 Also, anytime a computer runs a program its called "AI". AI has been around forever, how do you think sports betting lines get their spreads? They take historical data/analysis and run it through a model.... Excel has had "what-ifs" forever in their program. Now technology has progressed (just like self driving cars), but getting to 80% is easy, getting things perfected to the last 10-20% takes forever (see blockchain which a decade ago was going to change real estate forever - how has that worked?).

Its best use is for repetitive processes but as you mention jonathan, its a tool but you still need the human. This is not to say we do not use it,we use it for our business but its a tool and never used to make a specific decision.

Not weird at all, good food is a key element to a good life. Ask any Italian. As a born and raised European, I am painfully aware of the scarcity of good quality food in the US. And before you object: yes you can buy it, but it is VERY expensive, both in restaurants and grocery stores. 

Whole Foods would be an about average quality grocery store and they would compete for price. A quart of regular milk is about 1 Euro, grass-fed organic milk is 1.10 - the difference is very small. (1 Euro = roughly 1.1 USD) Here in Milwaukee I pay about about $7 for for a 2 quart container grass-fed. And when I travel to the West coast I find out that is actually cheap!! 

We are caught in that vicious cycle of having to make more money in order to live better, and the utter lack of work-life balance is killing the very quality of life we are trying to achieve by working harder for it.

Europe is a stark contrast, but you see a difference within the US. And I think this is where the Midwest starts to stand out from red-haired step child of past decades to looking pretty good now. The pace of life is a bit more moderate, cost of living definitely is lower and we all know about real estate prices. 

I would also add good health care to that list. Not as obvious, but all the more important when you need it.

I also think that the whole "move south" movement will eventually come around and people will find out that living in TX or FL has also it's downsides. Just look at the news every day, insurance cost is definitely going to continue to go up there.

@Chris Seveney hit it on the head about AI. It will not work here, it might save you a little time, but will just collect similar data which is not necessarily accurate. I don't use AI at all, for anything, and see no value in it for me. Most people who are using it are using it the wrong way in real estate. It's a measuring tool or an efficiency tool to start research. It's not the research.

Thank you. That's a great lesson. I also think the problem is often tied up inside a person's self-awareness. That self-awareness is lower when someone is new at anything, so sometimes they don't even know how to react, so they react based on their feeling of inadequacy in a big pond with killer fish.

Thank you. That's a great lesson. I also think the problem is often tied up inside a person's self-awareness. That self-awareness is lower when someone is new at anything, so sometimes they don't even know how to react, so they react based on their feeling of inadequacy in a big pond with killer fish.