All Forum Posts by: Henry Chen

Of the cities you listed, I would take a closer look at Duarte, Azusa, and Glendora.  I see more upward indicating factors for them than the others... the Gold Line being one of them.  Glendora's school district is probably the best of the bunch.  Of course, location is key... there are good and bad pockets for any city.

If you can use any assistance or guidance on your remodel, shoot me a pm... I'd be glad to point you in the right direction.  Good luck!

I'm in a situation that's slightly more complicated than the average sale and need some advice.  I'm in escrow to sell a duplex in Pasadena, CA.  Included in the sale is a set of approved building plans for a 5 unit condo.  The property was listed with plans that were "pending plan check approval", the situation was fully disclosed under contract, buyer was aware that the plans were subject to corrections from the City, and a set of the submitted plans were provided to the buyer.  Buyer's offer was "all cash" and all contingencies have been removed.

In the corrections, the City asked for some changes (as expected), such as calling for a higher spec roofing material.  The buyer is now holding up closing and is asking for another price reduction.  (On a relevant note, our architects were able to design more SF in the final plan than what was originally presented to the buyer; the profits from the additional SF should more than cover the increased costs from the City's spec changes.)

My questions are:

1. Does the buyer have grounds to withhold closing?  In our contract, the language was "3 days after delivery of approved plans"... this was achieved 3 weeks ago.
2. How should the buyer's deposit be treated if we pursue cancellation?  Do both parties must agree before we can confiscate the deposit?  Since the buyer won't agree to this, does that mean we essentially can't touch any portion of their deposit?
3. Can we unilaterally cancel the contract and escrow if we give the buyer their full deposit?
4. What is the fastest timeline for cancellation (from notice to when we can relist the property and accept new offers)?  Notice to Perform + 3 days... what steps follow and how much time do they take?

Thank you in advance!

I clicked into the thread as I was really curious how someone could "accidentally buy" any type of real estate... not really something you could pull off on a whim or on impulse.

First and foremost, the question of whether the house being a part of a HOA was disclosed needs to be resolved right away. It would show up in the seller disclosures and title report.

Secondly, I agree with @Jeff Copeland's interpretation of the language your neighbor is scaring you with.  I'm not reading it as prohibitive against leasing out the home.  

@Dustin Lauer so far here in Los Angeles.  I'm looking for asset-based lending because my investment group is structured with a Limited Partnership as the title holding entity.  Also, conventional lenders more often than not require the title of the property to be held by an individual; they also consider personal and asset (rental) incomes together.

Does FirstKey still have an office in Pasadena?

@John S. and others, has B2R relaxed their prepayment penalties?  Are there any other asset-based lenders out there with loans that have no prepayment penalties?

@Tyrell Perry, congrats on pulling the trigger on an investment with stellar numbers!  Out of curiosity, your management cost is $0 due to a long standing tenant fulfilling that role.  Are you giving him/her any rent concessions for doing so?  If so, what would your numbers look like if you factor that in as your management cost?  On the same note, how much would outside management cost you if said tenant were to leave (*knock on wood*... hope that doesn't happen until you want it to) and how would it affect your numbers?  I suspect they would still be stellar numbers, but just wanted to where they'd land.

Do you have any plans to scale your model?  Do you think there are more properties out there that can perform similarly?

@Archie Robb and @Jason Hastings, thank you guys for your insightful replies! My understanding is that a flat fee MLS listing will also get us on the MLS. That said, I hear you guys that an agent would bring more to the table than just access to the MLS.

Just curious, how did the first buyer back out after 2 months?  Was there a long contingency period?  Sorry to revisit an old wound, but the experience may help others avoid the same situation.

I'm on the fence and could use some advice on whether to list a SFR for rent with an agent or by ourselves. The property is a newly renovated house in the Hollywood Hills area where rents are relatively high (comps suggest rents will be in the $8500-9500 range) and tenants/buyers here can be more particular than in other areas. Some considerations:

Listing with any agent: What are the commissions for leasing with an agent? Is listing with an agent the only way to get listed for lease on the MLS? What value can an agent bring to the lease?

List ourselves: I'm aware of sites like Westsiderentals.com, Craigslist, and Trulia/Zillow.  Any other ones I should know about?

Thank you in advance for any insight you can share.  In particular, feedback from investors who've worked in the Hollywood/LA area would be particularly helpful.