All Forum Posts by: Charles Rosenbusch

@Hongbing K. With the military I will be moving every 3-4 years so I have to factor in management, at least for after I have left the area.  There is a good chance that I will come back to the San Diego area but it would not be for a while.

@Rod F. Hatefi I will keep you in mind when I get down there.  In the mean time I need to keep up on the research so that I can hit the ground running when I'm ready.

@Ying Gong Vacancy is set at 5% so on the low side of average.
Taxes are based on the county assessors website info of $2843/yr.  Would this amount be reassessed upon sale based on the sale price?  Or will this amount be consistent?

@Hongbing K. I was planning on using a VA Loan which will help with the cash on cash ROI due to no money down.
@Ying Gong's point is exactly why I am focusing primarily on cash flow.  

I found this building on redfin and did a more complex analysis for practice. (Test Case)
Its listed for 499k and currently has tenants in each of the two units paying 1500 each (according to their info). Based on my simple analysis, paying360k for this property would net me 8.50% ROI and only $52.12 in cashflow per unit which to me would be a bare minimum based on ROI.
Closing costs are based on 2.15% for a VA loan with no money down.
So if I'm doing this correctly the seller would have to accept my seriously low ball offer on their property for me to make any sort of decent cash flow, correct?  I understand @Dan's point that San Diego is likely not the best place for cash flow at the moment, and this is purely a theoretical analysis so that you all can double check me.  Thanks again for all the responses.

I've been tryingto run numbers based on my understanding of the 50% rule based on this article (https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/04/0...) and they don't seem to be working out.  

$425,000 @ 4% 30yr loan = $2,029.02/month 
2 units @$1600/month = $3200/month
So
$3200 (Total income)
-1600 (50% of income)
-2029 (Mortgage)
 -429

I left out property tax for simplicity and used the 1600/month rent as a general assumption.   I also assumed that I would be renting out both units because that will be the end goal.  In the article the author states that he likes to aim for at least $100 per unit and this shows negative.  Am I doing this wrong?

@Chris Mason I'm looking at San Diego for a few reasons.  I'm heading back into the military and will probably end up there as my initial duty station within the next 18-24 months.  Also, compared to the Bay the prices are much more within the realm of what I'm comfortable with for a first buy.  I know there are comparable prices in the greater Bay Area but I have spent very little time in those areas and have very little knowledge about them.  
Thanks @Sarah D. for the advise, Ill take a look at multiplexes.  I was already leaning towards at least a duplex.  
I think that has held me back so far with RE has a lot to do with the size of the loans.  A 4-plex at 225k/unit comes to 900k which is rather scary.  Do you have any advise for a good starting point to just get started towards my first purchase?

I am new to the idea of real estate investing.  Most of my knowledge and experience is in stock market index investing and I have only just started to learn about real estate.  My goal is FI in 15 years with a monthly expenses of $4000.  In reading and listening to the FIRE community I have come to realize that real estate investing can be a valuable addition to my asset allocation.  Looking to get into buy and hold single family to 4 plex in the San Diego area.