All Forum Posts by: Emy Bernardo

@JacobPereira  Jacob - I messaged you.  Look forward to speaking with you soon! 

Yes, that's all I've been hearing lately here in San Diego, that the Silicon Valley techies are paying all cash for homes here. So much for any hopes of a Covid softening in prices.  I recently represented a buyer in Lake Arrowhead, CA which is typically a balanced market - it's absolutely going crazy up there like never before with folks moving out of LA to escape to a quiet mountain town.  The telecommuting factor is playing a major part to enable. Many are being motivated to move due to the deteriorating quality of life in the big cities.  Lake Arrowhead is close enough to OC and LA if you still need to go into the office once in a while. 

Yes, all the people moving from CA and other states has drastically changed the market. We purchased a duplex in CDA 2018 for around 200k, can't even find one now for less than $350k.  Market is just as, if not more, competitive than here in San Diego - at least in the starter to mid- price point ($350k)  My son moved to CDA two years ago and has been looking to purchase his first home there.  He kept getting outbid by Californian's making all cash offers. He ended up buying a new construction home that will be done by the end of October. And now, we are getting ready to list his wife's parents home since they are moving to CDA to be near their kids! So add a couple more San Diegans to the population count. It's even worse since Covid.  So many people are moving from Seattle and other areas since they can work remotely.  Unfortunately, there is a lot of animosity towards Californians there. Definitely don't bring any blue state politics (move to Boise if that's how you swing) with you or at least keep it to yourself and get your license plates changes ASAP or risk your car getting keyed or worse.  Through a Trump sticker on it if you want to survive!  I'm not even kidding. Not saying I agree with that mentality, but it's the reality. We'll see how many move back to CA after they suffer through a few winters.  

@John A Murray  - thanks for the info on AB 13!  I hadn't seen that one - it is similar to AB 68 but has more language in there about the connection fees, etc.  I work for a  local coastal city here in San Diego County that has very strict zoning and design ordinances and once folks get wind of this, it's going to get ugly. Esp, with the getting rid of the owner occupied requirement and set backs.  

We currently have an ADU w/ shared utilities. The concern I have about sharing all the utilities under one service is that we incur high usage charges here in San Diego. So, if the usage exceed a certain threshold in a billing cycle, we are charged the higher rate. This is easy to do with 2 or 3 units under one service. So, although the sub-metering is handy to keep track of what each tenant owes, the biggest issue for us is getting hit with the high usage charge. We are going to do a garage conversion now that AB 68 passed to allow 2 ADUs. Hopefully, we can split out the utilities if not cost prohibitive. Or, maybe end up with solar!

@William C.   I was referring to an earlier post that mentioned 99% of sellers won't agree to major repairs.   We recently purchased a duplex in Idaho and the seller agreed to a large credit for the roof replacement.  He was  under a tight timeline doing a reverse 1031 exchange - my point is you never know the sellers situation, so always ask before you through the deal away. 

@David Waddleton - I live on So-Cal too and it's easy for people to say to "look for something closer to home" - anyone that lives in LA or San Diego that wants to get into their first deal w/ 100k needs to look far from home! We purchased a SFR from a turn key provider in Middletown, OH (just outside of Cincy). Your numbers are just as good - if not better - than the numbers that these providers use in their pro-formas for the turn key properties they sell. Ohio is a stable market and land-lord friendly. I'd say it a good first deal if the seller will agree to the repairs that you request. You never know the seller's situation; I don't agree with the negative advice that sellers don't agree to do major repairs. You may end up getting a nice credit or reduction in price (hopefully, you have some reserves to pay for the repairs out of pocket).

My only advice is to fly out there and look at the property in person - if you can go out there for the inspection that is ideal.  You want to see the neighborhood, surrounding properties, meet your PM in person, take her out for lunch or coffee.  You definitely want to be more than the investor from California to her.   It's SO hard to find a good PM - I have yet to find one.  This can really make or break your success.   We made the mistake of trusting our PM on a duplex in San Antonio we owned.  When we made a visit after many years under their management, we found all sorts of issues that could have been prevented if the tenant had reported them earlier (rotting floors from leaky toilet, etc.)  If you can't fly out, make sure you get inspections at least once a year by the PM to make sure the tenants are taking care of the place (reporting leaks, changing air filters, etc).  Good luck!!!

We are venturing into buy and hold duplex in 29 Palms.  Amazed to find a cash flowing market in So-Cal.  Hoping the Marine Base will keep things stable for a while.  Any tips on pest inspectors, handyman, and property management are appreciated. 

@Sean Durham We are purchasing a duplex in 29 Palms, curious what firm you decided to go with and how is it going so far?

@Kyle S. Thanks for the feedback.   That's pretty much what I figured, unfortunately. And, the fact that they are planning to add a ton more inventory with the Havasu Riviera project will probably make the demand even less.  I would love to have a place there to rent out part time and use as a semi-retirement pad in the future.  We visited last year in August during an extreme heat wave - it was 118 and a ghost town. Kind of nice being on the lake when it's empty if you can stand the heat.  From what I've researched  - monthly rents during the high season for a 3/2 maybe top out around $1800.  Someone please correct me if I'm wrong on those numbers.