All Forum Posts by: Hans Christopher Struzyna

Congrats and welcome. You should connect with Amanda Han with Keystone CPA. They are real estate CPA's in southern CA and also invest. She wrote a tax-related book that is published by bigger pockets as well. 

@Peter Hendler That makes sense. Are you considering a revenue stream from rent? I assume you are thinking about living in one unit and renting others? If so, you should spend some time on the City of Oaklands site learning about the ins and outs of owner-occupied rental property. The rules are really fluid right now and are always up for debate. This could really change things for both your underwriting and your enjoyment of the property. 

If there is any way I can help you get educated, let me know. Feel free to DM me or respond to this thread. 

Best,

Hans

Ryan, what kind of work are you looking for. I have a ton of great tradespeople and contractors in my database that I'd be willing to share. Feel free to DM me for that info.

Best,

Hans

I just sent you a DM @Anita Ahuja. I've got someone in my network who is fantastic. 

Hi Peter, it's a pleasure to e-meet you. I love the BRRR strategy for sure. What is it you love so much about BRRRR? I also think there are tons of opportunities for house hacking here in the Oakland area if you can get a house in the first place because appreciation is real here. I'm looking forward to connecting and Ill see you on the forums!!

Hi Steven, a 3/1 for 2500 sounds reasonable for most of Oakland, though your comment about it being a Class C neighborhood makes me wonder. Where is the property located? Also, do you have professional photos of the property on your ad? People in the bay area are so tech and phone driven that you need to get their attention with great photos. That could be part of the problem. Do you know how many showings you are getting or how many hits on your listing? 

If you can give a bit more info on that, I might be able to provide some more thoughts. 

Hi @DJ Cespedes, You absolutely need to go into the city to talk to them. However, you should ABSOLUTELY not bring address and photos with you as @Account Closed suggested. By bringing addresses and photos into the city you run a very serious risk of turning the owners for a permit/code violation. If you end up doing so, you have materially damaged the sale and the Seller has a serious legal claim against you. Unpermitted ADUs are a really serious issue in Oakland right now and you don't want to get caught up in the middle of it. I had a client who got turned in for this several months ago and it was a huge mess. Your agent should be able to coach you through this conversation. 

Generally, you want to ask very, very vague questions like:  "If I were to buy a house that has _____ (explain the situation), how could I go about legalizing it? " They will ask for a specific address but you must not give them one. 

When you ask City for info, make sure you get the language that defines what an ADU is and is not. That way, you can go back to the structure and look at it for yourself and see if there are any clear/ obvious discrepancies between what is there and what is written. Also, ask the seller for any drawings, plans, or documentation from when they built the unit. As well, you will want to find out if the ADU was built from the ground up or if it was a converted shed/garage. If it is the latter, having the original structure built with permits is important because that can exclude you from the modern setback requirement among others.

If you have more questions, DM me and I'm happy to chat further. 

Kyle Rixon is your guy. Shoot me a DM for his contact info. 

Unfortunately, @John Underwood it's not that simple. Oakland has fairly strict rent control laws about this kind of thing and they just removed the exemption for owner-occupied du and triplexes. So, you have to look at a number of factors when looking to move someone out without cause (meaning they haven't violated their lease). How long they have been in the unit, their status as a protected tenant and several other factors come into play here. 

Generally, we tell our clients that selling a property that has tenants in place will lower the price by up to 10%.  

I would recommend that you start chatting with a real estate attorney to find out the process and understand the cost/timeline. Feel free to DM me @William Hess and I can give you the name of one that has a great reputation in Oakland. 

I'd say the main thing with hiring a property manager after you have been self-managing is to make sure they understand your lease and are willing/able to enforce it. Most of these companies have their own leases and really only know the way to enforce those terms. As well, since you are handy, you likely won't be spending much on service provider calls. Make sure you understand their protocol on calling service providers and the costs associated with that. This was my #1 issue with my previous manager. They called people and sent me bills before I could do anything about it, even though my contract with them said I needed to be contacted before money was spent. 

I hope this helps. Good luck!