All Forum Posts by: Elsa Chang

Also from the Bay Area. I have been investing since the last recession. I snatched a few amazing foreclosures between 2009 -2012. I held only 3 of them until 2020. During those 4 or 5 years I constantly bought and sold properties from auctions and banks for quick flips. Had I kept those properties, I would have retired a few years ago. My finances are good, but I am still working in corporate, granted it's a well-paid tech job. Now it's more of intellectual challenges and wanting to scale up on different kinds of real estate. I also don't enjoy remodels and managing properties anymore after years of doing that. After selling some of my properties, I put my proceeds in notes and syndication and became an LP instead. I am actually waiting for the market to adjust after the frenzy in the past 2 years. The numbers have to make sense. The cap rate is so low in the Bay Area I started looking into other states 5 years ago. Good deals are starting to resurface in many areas in the past few months.

I think investing in smaller MF, such as 4plexes which you can still qualify for conventional residential loans and learn from there. As a beginner investor, you want to get the basic right and not have to deal with too much stress from larger properties. 

It also depends on how much capital you have to start, but always look for properties that you can add value.

Joel - These are exactly my thoughts. Certain principles apply to residential real estate as well. I have years of experience in STR but now I want to move into NNN and other commercial properties. I also do a feasibility analysis for the areas and look at dozen of deals on a regular basis. Just sent you a connection request.

I have lived in

Montreal
Toronto
Long Island, New York
a small rural town in New Hampshire
suburb of Boston
Chicago
Santiago, Chile
Cologne, Germany
Hong Kong
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Hong Kong
And spent the majority of my life in San Francisco Bay Area.
Traveled most of the world. The only continent I have never been to is Antarctica.
My partner really hates SF so eventually we will have to go somewhere. As for me, I would pretty much like to stay in the Bay, especially the North Bay, Marin County to be specific. However, we can comfortably afford to live in San Francisco now because both of us have well-paid tech jobs.
Chances are, we will most likely move to Seattle or Austin. I didn't buy this idea at first, but then if I were to run my real estate business full time, it's more doable in places where the cost of living is lower.

Correct! Now that the dust is settled. I have been looking for properties in the area. I am from the Bay Area so it took me a bit of research and calling agents over in the DC area to help me. I am already priced out in Arlington, but I am closing a property next week in Alexandria near the airport. This is not my first time purchasing a property remotely, but it has been a long time since. And the last remote purchase I did was somewhere I went to school (Chicago), so at least I had some knowledge of the area. 

I hope it is a good investment. I made a cash offer to beat the competition. It's a small one-bedroom unit but super close to the future National Landing. If this works well, I would love to get a multiple family property in the area also.

In addition, if you know any good lender that can give me a good cash-out refinance rate, please let me know.

-Elsa

Hi @Kevin M.  

Thanks for your response. I just got off the phone with the broker who sent me the listing. He couldn't provide me the rent roll but saying the customers pay cash to the owner, which I think it's a bit suspicious even though he claimed the cap rate with the Excel spreadsheet saying it's over 11%. From the way he spoke to me, it was condescending, and I am not sure if this is really how people run their storage businesses. It seems like a happening neighborhood. I am just not sure if the attitude is common or I need a commercial RE agent to help me with this. I will PM you the address.

Hi there,

I am selling a rental of mine and decided to invest in a larger property, especially in self-storages. I got an email from a broker inTexas for a property in North Western part of Houston. I have been doing a bit of demographic research in the area, and it seems like a decent investment. But I still want to ask if there are any locals there who can give me some first-hand opinion about the area before I make a decision? The location is surrounded by places such as Champion Spring Village, Colony Creek Village, Cedar Creek Forest Mobile Home, and not too far away from Lone Star College University park.  Thanks! -Elsa

@David Greene I just bought your long distance real estate book. In fact, my first investment property was in Chicago. Would love to join your next meetup to learn more. 

@Karla Talancon I am so glad I stumbled upon your response. I wasn't born in the SF Bay Area, but I have been here for almost 18 years. I studied finance, statistics, psychology, and computer science and I have had a great run in the tech industry. I love houses since I was very young, and I am also into demography and economics. I remember building houses with LEGO was the only toy I played growing up. I worked at Google, Yahoo, and a whole bunch of startups in the valley as well as my own tech non-profit in Chile. I have recently left my last project and am looking to invest out of state. I am fortunate that I bought my condo in Berkeley area 9 years ago that allows me to live cheaper and saved up. But the high cost of living here won't allow me to live comfortably without another tech job. I have been thinking about moving but my support network is here. Anyways, it is true that many of us (Californians) are inclined to move elsewhere. I have visited Austin and Dallas in the past and liked them both. "I strongly believe that if you invest in out of state properties they can help fund your lifestyle in California and maybe you won't have to leave California." This is exactly what I am trying to accomplish. I bought a foreclosed condo in Chicago for dirt cheap and now its value has increased lots. Me and other owners in the building decided to sell as and we are already in contract. So, it's time for me to look for better and bigger opportunities.

Hi @Michael Swan - I am also from California. This week I am in Ohio looking for investment properties. I spent the past couple days in Cleveland, and I found 2 multi-family units around 175k. They are both in Shaker Heights with an annual income around 28k/year. What kills is that the property tax here is so high, like 4%. After all operating cost, and without property management (they are both well-maintained properties rented to very good tenants), I will net about 7-8% cap. Wonder if it's a good investment from your point of view.