All Forum Posts by: Eric Wong

@Greg Powers yikes...I understand their frustration. Even though Pacaso doesn't allow the co-owners to "rent" the home to non-owners, basically arbitrage, but who's going to stop co-owners from allowing family members and friends from using the property during their allotted time? Very similar to timeshares.  

Seems like a pretty good business model. I just saw a home owned by Pacaso while browsing thru Zillow. They bought the SFR in February of this year for 4.95MIL, and are now offering 1/8 of a share of the LLC entity that owns the property, for $730k. That's a gross profit of $890k, not including the management fees and other charges for the life of the ownership. depending on their holding costs and other fixed costs until they find the 8 buyers needed to complete the purchase, they would be coming away with a cool 17-18% return. From what they say on their website, they are not really a timeshare (owning blocks of time at the property), but a co-ownership, where the LLC is managed by Pacaso and you can stay at the property anytime during the year (I'm assuming and 1/8th of a year or 45 days total??). Would also love to hear from someone who has bought in and what their experience is with it.

@Austin Shandley

I don’t think there’s any problem with your game plan, as long as your significant other or family is up for it!

I debated doing this myself, after being in my home for a little over 2 years now, but decided to stay put for now and pull out equity thru a HELOC to invest instead. This way we can still tap into that equity but keep my wife and kids from having to move house to house every year or two.

If it works, then keep doing what you’re doing! I believe that real estate investing will give you the ability to get into that dream home without having to wait for the market dynamic to flip.

@Shane Maddux

For sure! Definitely buy at the right price, and it can definitely work. I think if you find a property that is close enough to the mountain, maybe off moonridge, then it should attract enough renters to offset the higher property management costs and longer vacancies like the property you stayed at.

The problem is finding a property like the one you mentioned, as a property like that would be overpriced in this market, as an owner who’s selling would bake in the price of it being fully rented in a “normal” winter season. That sets you up for more risk, as you have to bank on all buildings renting out for 12 nights a year to just pay the mortgage (at the owner’s current loan amount), not factoring the insurance, taxes, cap ex, property manager, etc. You’re also at mercy of the weather, which you can’t control. Fortunately, there’s year round activities to do up there, one of the reasons I like Big Bear so much.

Finding a motivated seller off market, or a distressed property is how I would tackle it.

Sharpen up those negotiating skills man!

@Victor S.

Man that price would be way high even for me in SoCal. Glad you didn’t take that offer from him!

Unfortunately I’m not in your area so I can’t refer any HVAC guys to help you, but you shouldn’t pay more than $2,500 all in, but that’s just my opinion and best guess comparison of Los Angeles costs vs OKC (assuming your property is in OKC).

For reference, I have a family friend who is a licensed HVAC subcontractor who charged me $2,000 at cost to install our mini split, but would typically charge $3,000 normally. Granted, it was a cheaper Chinese unit (Tosot) instead of a higher priced Japanese brand.

@Shane Maddux 

I’m new to investing as well, and had the same thoughts, due to my love for the mountains and wanting to be close to big bear to get my snowboarding fix.

The STR route hasn't penciled out from the properties I've seen thus far. I will say this though...if you can get a duplex or triplex up there, you can incorporate long term for one or two of the units, while leaving one unit as a short term or personal use. I believe this will work out at the right price!

Good luck!

@Victor S. I think the mini split is your best bet, just get a small one with less btu's since the room is so small. You Can find a pretty cheap one that’s about 6,000 btu. But don’t get the cheapest! I made the mistake with getting the cheapest without testing it out, and it was loud and tough for those who can’t sleep with the noise...although personally I think it’s a soothing whit noise.

Thanks for all the advice guys! Lots of options here...@Mark S. grinding it down myself does sound fun. I've demo'd houses (interiors) in the past, which I loved.

Thanks for the input! I googled and saw that people were turning the stumps into planter boxes...the wife seems to like that idea.

As far as selling the house, I wonder if leaving the stump would matter one way or the other to potential buyers?

Has anyone dealt with a large tree stump, over 4 ft diameter, in the front yard?

Would you remove it, or try to incorporate it into the landscape? Would the stump add or decrease the property value? The Stump is located on the opposite side of the yard from the driveway.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on this, and the pros and cons.