All Forum Posts by: Garrett Binder

@Athena Tong I used both Rent to Retirement and also purchased a property with a company called JWB.  Happy to discuss pros & cons from my experience with you privately if you want to message me. 

thanks, I found a few from referrals from friends. 

I'm looking for a GC for a full home remodel in Carlsbad, San Diego, CA. We're opening escrow this week and would need someone to walk the property with us and get some quotes in ASAP.  Thank you very much for any recommendations you can provide. 

Great points @Mike Lambert, thanks for the insight. Only reason I mentioned the fear of them possibly taking our property is just a couple months ago the local tennis club near our home was threatened to be taken down and turned into a park. Some properties in the area would have also been affected as well. That's about all the specifics I know so not sure what is or isn't true there but I just hear these stories and since I don't know how the law works AND also know from experience in Mexico the law isn't always followed to a T, it just made me a little weary.  So far, our property in Tijuana has gone up nearly $200k in value in a little over 3 years we have been here so it's been a good investment so far.  

Hi Sharise, I live in Tijuana but am from San Diego.  My wife and I have been here for 3 years.  Happy to connect and hopefully learn from each other. I'm new to investing in RE but would still love to connect.

Hey Thomas, I bought our home in Tijuana (in my wife's name) and have been living here for 3 years.  Not sure I can contribute much on the process or how to find great deals but I can definitely tell you about life in TJ.  Happy to help either way

I'm basically the opposite of @Mike Lambert here where I do live in Mexico but am relatively new to investing both in Mexico and in general. My family moved from San Diego to Tijuana nearly 3 years ago so I am happy to talk about what it's like living down here (both good and bad) and from my experience with our home, it has appreciated and we should be able to get decent rent for it if we move out but we are staying put for now.  The biggest thing that scares me (even though my wife is Mexican) is the lack of certainty about what our property is really worth, and trusting the government won't just take our property from us citing some obscure rule or something.  Happy to be a resource if you have any questions about life down here. 

@Justin Phillips thank you, never heard of that so I am grateful for the new tool.  Will definitely look into it.

@Evan Polaski - great feedback and good questions thanks. Does she NEED it? I'd say only in case of an emergency or if she gets laid off her job. I think my main concern is if she doesn't do anything now while the market is red hot, what if it does dip a little (or a lot) and she loses $200k or something on her property value just because she didn't want to act now? I know you can't foresee the future but from what my other RE investor friends are saying, it's a sure possibility. 
She has her own investment portfolio managed by someone that's doing just OK.  This would be more of a proactive move; downsizing to a house her size, moving from 2 story to 1 story so no more stairs for her, getting rid of roommates, eliminating risk of losing $ in the future if the market crashes.  To your point though, one thing my mom is not, is organized. She would be a terrible landlord I'm guessing and my hope is she finds a great property management company to support her if she chooses to rent (which she is leaning to do). 

@Taylor L. I agree w/ you completely. She likely wouldn't buy again right now if she were to sell.  She may rent or if she does go and buy, it may not even be in CA.  Overall, what you said was my entire thought process going into this. Thank you

Thank you Dan, appreciate the feedback

I'm writing this for my Mom and I'm looking for some unbiased advice here as I don't know too many people yet in the RE investing game. Here's the situation. 

She is 71 years old, owns a home in San Diego that can probably sell for at least $1.5M right now in this market. She owes about $371k on it.  It's a 6BR house and while she has 2 roommates, it's still pretty big for her and doesn't really need it anymore. Her goal is to live in San Diego for at least the next 5 years while she continues to work, retire comfortably and if possible, create some passive income on the side although safety and security are much more important at this point due to her not having much else saved up and few working years left. 

Without sharing some of the advice I've already received, I'd like to know what the best options for her would be.  Here are several as I see them in no particular order.

- Sell now, downsize and live mortgage free and invest the difference or buy a rental property

- Rent out her home (she estimates she can get around $6500/mo for it) and rent somewhere else temporarily. 

- Refi and get an interest only loan, pull out about $300k in equity from her home and buy a rental property

I'm sure there are tons more options and lots of variations here on how to do it.  I think being financially secure and the least risk is paramount as her house is her biggest asset and can't afford to lose it. Thank you all for reading and I'm eager to hear the feedback/advice.

Thanks!