All Forum Posts by: Grace Esteban

Interesting view Brian. I haven't thought of that at all. I'm a rookie with an insatiable desire to master the rental investments. Would my condo qualify for Section 8?

I talked to a rep from Apartments.com this morning. He told me the sobering reality according to their analytics. Do any Bay Area landlords want to chime in? I want to get a PM for my property but looking at the websites of the PMs it looks like they have a lot of inventory so I'm doing my own postings. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

How do you maintain a positive business outlook nowadays? Asking for a friend :)

I received numerous leads from furnished.com. I highly recommend this for short term rentals near hospitals. Unfortunately for me, my HOA prohibits rentals lower than 6 months. A real bummer and a hard lesson for me. The nurses only require max 3 months' stay at a time. I had to change my strategy. I am now using apartments.com and rentals.com. My challenge is, my unit is fully furnished. According to apartments.com analytics, 559 looked at my listing but not one inquiry. I guess people are searching for an unfurnished apartment? I called the company and told me to advertise on their corporatehousing.com website instead.
I hope this pandemic ends soon. I wouldn't have this problem otherwise (oops "challenge"). I'm not giving up.

@Sandra Regnell Thank you, Sandra. This website is really helpful.

@Joseph ODonovan Thank you, Joseph. You're right. The tenants are quality leads too.

@Erickson Sainval Thank you, Erickson.

Thank you @Erickson Sainval. I couldn't agree with you more. I just recently refinanced with a 2.75% Honestly, I never thought this rate would even be real but it is. I still pay the same, I just put it on principal. Thank you for your wise words. I hope this pandemic will be over soon. I will remain patient. Cheers!

Investment Info:

Condo buy & hold investment in Oakland.

Purchase price: $432,000
Cash invested: $17,000

This is a one-bedroom condo in downtown Oakland. The building is a 4-story and near public transportation, the financial district, and hospitals. I lived here for two years and now opening it up for short term rentals (preferably traveling nurses/medical professionals).

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

It is close to the Convention Center and only 12 minutes away to Embarcardero, San Francisco.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I don't think this was a good deal. I bought it during the peak. I work in SF and live in SJ, I thought it would be wise to just buy a property close to public transportation in Oakland rather than rent.

How did you finance this deal?

I found this through Zillow.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I should have bargained better.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Oakland.

Purchase price: $237,000
Cash invested: $10,000
Sale price: $600,000

I bought this house when all my friends were fearful to buy a place in Oakland. The City is big and there are bad places but majority of the places in Oakland are safe. This is a Tudor type of house. Two-story with a nice small backyard.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

The house is aethetically pleasing with very little need for repair.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

It is a short sale and ther was really nothing to negotiate.

How did you finance this deal?

My student loan.

How did you add value to the deal?

I updated the plumbing and painted the interior. I also updated the stairs.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I wish I never sold the house. I could have hold on to it and rent it out.

Thank you everyone for all your suggestions. My property is now listed on the following websites;

Zillow - (Hotpads and Trulia) Free

FurnishedFinder - $253.00 :( This is the only paid site. I don't know if I made a rookie mistake but I'll charge it to experience if ever. It looks like they only cater to traveling nurses and professionals so I do hope I get tenants from them first. My listing is still pending.

Zumper - Free  I like that they will post my rental on Facebook without telling my FB friends and family, my unit is available for rent. I really like their design. Cool to the eyes. 

Cozy.co - Free I like the simplicity of their website. 

Well, I guess, I have to wait and see now. I would need to be patient. My next move is to take more photos and 3D video this weekend to add to my listing.

I don't think I can do this without all your help. I appreciate all your leads. My stress level now went down. THANK YOU.