All Forum Posts by: Francis A.

If I were a betting man, I would point the area south of USC - west of the 110 freeway.

The boundaries would be JEFFERSON BLVD to the north, SLAUSON to the south and stretching westward all the way to BALDWIN HILLS and ending at La Cienega on the western border of this rectangle of speculation.

I've personally seen "in love" yuppies taking a sunday morning stroll at Central and MLK blvd. If that isn't a sign of gentrification then I need to recalibrate my yuppie-dar. There's also a nice Fresh and Easy grocery store a few blocks north on Adams and Central btw.

And then there is a starbucks on the South west corner of Slauson and Central ave. I was driving south towards the 10 freeway on Central. A friend of mine texted me to grab a WSJ to read an article in the business section. I thought "oh drat!" I gotta drive back to downtown to locate a WSJ! And then I remembered that there was that Starbucks on Slauson that I had seen while driving around with my realtor. I called an Audible and drove there as it was a shorter drive than hiking it back to downtown Los Angeles.

What do you know? They had a WSJ at that Starbucks at 10:30pm at night. That kinda blew me away considering what the neighborhood used to be like 6-10 years ago. 

So I would say...

90037 - first choice (specifically - west of the 110 fwy)

90011 - 2nd choice

90018 - 2nd + choice

Case in point. When we were shopping around for a duplex, we just missed out on a really really nice one next to USC. As we drove around dejected, we saw this place.

1221 West 51st Pl Los Angeles, CA 90037

We checked it out and almost ran for the hills.  Hello deferred maintenance hell! There were squatters in the back (don't let the pics fool you) but you could tell it had once been a nice duplex! The structure was still regal looking. Fast forward July, 2014 and this some enterprising investor has scooped up that fixer upper. I am very curious to see when it re debuts on the market and at what price.

Wild card neighborhood - City Terrace. Keep an eye out for this neighborhood in the next 3-5 years. The views of the city from that hill are gorgeous!

To show you how much fat cat Google is slacking when it comes to updating Google maps, check out the corner of Slauson and Central. 

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.9893322,-118.25662...

This picture is SO DAMN OLD it isn't funny. That whole section across from the McDonalds is a bustling shopping strip anchored by the Northgate supermarket and a CVS pharmacy. Starbucks, Waba Grill, Panda Express, Yogurtland and Wing Stop are some your usual far of casual eateries round out the the rest of list.

http://www.regencycenters.com/properties/property_...

http://www.mattconstruction.com/project-detail/ret…

Happy hunting! 

@Brock Y.  It's great to hear your duplexes in Minneapolis are cash flowing despite the purchase price! 

@Marcus Johnson from Richfield, MN owns a duplex in the Hiawatha neighborhood of Minneapolis that he's happy with.

 I was in Minneapolis/St Paul a few weeks ago to check out potential neighborhoods in which to purchase a duplex next year.

It looks like southern Minneapolis (South of the 394 fwy in the west and south of the 94 fwy on the eastern side of Minneapolis and stretching into St Paul) are the areas to search for properties. Cool city I must say! It has a little bit of every thing bigger cities have.

Investors who specialize in a little less "desirable" neighborhoods might venture north but I'm staying in Southern Minneapolis and St Paul.

Is your duplex in South Minneapolis or St Paul? And are you going to be focusing on purchasing more properties there? Happy for your on going RE investment success!

@Blake G.  Welcome! I'm sure you'll hear this suggestion mentioned more than a few times to you. Take a glance at the podcast listing. You'll find them to be wide-ranging in all things regarding RE investing and more (life skills that extend out of the RE investing :boundaries").  

In short, the podcasts are a great launching point that invariably lead towards your ultimate destination(s) as far as real estate investing goes. I know they helped me greatly when I first stumbled upon them.

Ironically, a friend of mine who just enrolled in grad school at Claremont college (Pomona) spent 3 years in South Korea teaching english and loved every moment of it. Sounds like you're already on your way.

You'll find BiggerPockets to be what the proverbial doctor ordered….a great overall resource! 

All the best on your journey!

Francis

@Mark Nugent  Your suggesting about moving and/or investing in Phoenix is intriguing for as the old saying goes, local knowledge is best!!

I just spent time in the mid west talking to a realtor and investigating property management companies.

A: In your opinion who are the strongest property management outfits in Phoenix? This can be a stumbling block for out of state investors.

B: What areas would you advise potential out of state investors like 

@Art Frasik to hunt for multi family units and why (IE: proximity to colleges/schools, businesses) etc. ?

Thanks for chiming in!! 

@Account Closed  Amanda Han in Fullerton I believe is a CPA who also specializes in RE.

Check out her podcast she did for this site.  Also there articles she has contributed to this site.

http://www.biggerpockets.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93...

@Jeniffer Huie

Rudy Kusuma is a successful Alhambra based real estate agent who runs a local RE meet up out at the Nu Vision REMAX offices in Alhambra.  He is very generous with his knowledge and time. You should connect with him.

http://www.meetup.com/NuVision-InvestorsClub/event...

All the best,

Francis

Hi,

This company was brought to my attention by a stranger at an airport.

http://www.b2rfinance.com/

Has anyone had any experience with them?

(Good, bad or indifferent)?

Thanks in advance!

Francis

@Cody Gentry

I lived in the Tidewater area of VA for many years. I still have friends there who are RE investors and doing well with rentals.

I also stumbled across this list that indicates that if you are able to get in on owning property in the Newport news, Norfolk, VA Beach area (albeit buying in at the right price), there are no shortage of local renters for you,... provided you price your rentals competitively.

http://www.realtytrac.com/content/news-and-opinion...

That being said, San Diego is laid back the the epitome of Southern California chillax. Combine that with being a successful RE investor and you'll be in near nirvana.

Hopefully, you make the best choice for you!

Good luck and God speed.

Francis

@Justin McWilliams 

Welcome on board!  This book should come in handy for the plane rides to Arizona while giving you an idea (financially speaking) of what to do and look for in your deals.

http://www.amazon.com/Every-Estate-Investor-Financ...

All the best!

Francis

@Paul Palmer

Great to know there are options in SE Mpls. Looks like you're about to score again in your investment deals. I have been looking  up and down the Hiawatha light rail line (from afar). 

In your opinion, why are there so many homes on the market? 2/1s SFRs especially. My realtor in Mpls says to look at them like one would look at Condos. There also seems to be a whole bunch of 3/1s and 4/1s with any different combination of bathrooms thrown in available. 

Duplexes on the other hand seem to be scarcer than SFRs. Ironically, the duplexes are all at least 100 years old which is also very interesting.

Eventually, it would be nice to own SFRs Edina (I rarely see Edina duplexes) but a fellow investor who is leery of out of state investing worries about when that time comes when people who would love to send their kids to school in the Edina school district can afford to buy their own homes rather than rent which would suck for an SFR owner investor.

All the best in your investing!!