All Forum Posts by: Houston Garcia

We will be meeting outdoors at the parklet in front of Ritual Coffee (1026 Valencia just a few doors down) - NOT at 1010 Valencia. I will be wearing a blue blazer & blue shirt. See you all there!

Start the weekend off right! Join us for our monthly coffee meeting; this event will be held in-person! Coffee & treats from Ritual Coffee will be provided. Co-hosted by Ed Diaz of Kuno Advisors & Houston Garcia of Compass Real Estate.

This is an opportunity to mingle with fellow local investors in an informal setting (rather than an office in the FiDi). No agenda, no sales pitches, no Powerpoint slides or handouts!

Important: Proof of vaccination will be required for entry - no exceptions.

Update: Event has been cancelled for December - rescheduled to January!

@Christopher Moloney When we used to host @ Sightglass Coffee, anywhere from 5 to 20 people would show up - just depended on the Friday. This will be our first in-person meetup since pre-pandemic times, so it'll be difficult to say, probably a handful of people. Expecting more @ our January event.

Start the weekend off right! Join us for our monthly coffee meeting; this event will be held in-person! Coffee & treats from Ritual Coffee will be provided.

This is an opportunity to mingle with fellow local investors in an informal setting (rather than an office in the FiDi). No agenda, no sales pitches, no Powerpoint slides or handouts!

Important: Proof of vaccination will be required for entry - no exceptions.

@Michael Cabaña - I highly recommend reaching out to a professional CPA or accountant. There’s a lot of red flags potentially raised with the IRS if it’s a non-arms length transaction - especially if it’s “too good” of a deal.

@Austin Cai The escrow/title company will be able to assist with prorating rents & keeping them in separate accounts that will be wired to you @ close of escrow. During escrow, you should also be given copies of all existing leases and tenant estoppels - big red flag if you aren't given those (or if written leases don't exist). That way you can get familiar with the intricacies of the tenants existing leases.

If the Seller works with a professional property management company, you can often utilize their services to streamline the transition process post-closing for a while and/or keep them on indefinitely. However, most triplexes & fourplexes that I've seen in Oakland are owner-managed/mom-and-pop investors. 

@Austin Cai Generally, a standardized lease agreement such as one from CAR (California Association of Realtors), or for Oakland in particular (from the East Bay Rental Housing Association) should suffice. As these lease forms have been thoroughly crafted, reviewed (and constantly updated) by attorneys. PM me if you'd like to see some standard lease forms.

Overall, an attorney isn't usually necessary to edit or review the forms as they're fairly thorough & ironclad. However, talking to an attorney is great from risk mitigation standpoint (evictions, owner move-ins, nuances in landlord-tenant laws to be aware of, etc) in discussing short term & long-term options w/tenants you'd be inheriting in a triplex or fourplex. I also have a few landlord attorneys if you'd like to pick their brains on Oakland landlord-tenant matters.

Hi @Raj Ad - just PM'd you a 1031 advisor/intermediary in the SF Bay Area.

@Carlos Lez If I were you, I would cease all direct communications & interactions with this tenant (of course, keep records of any messages they send). Instead, the appropriate response would be to direct them to only communicate with your attorney. A landlord attorney is especially important in this case, since as you already know, landlord-tenant laws in the Bay Area are some of the most convoluted & strict in the nation - especially w/the moratoriums. Tenants have endless (usually pro-bono) legal resources, so I'd recommend getting a landlord attorney, especially based on the fact that this unwarranted tenant is already lodging formal complaints against you/playing the racism card. If you need some referrals, just send me a PM.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like you've already accepted rent from this tenant, since he has been paying from his unemployment? This is an important distinction that your attorney will certainly bring up, as you may have inadvertently elevated him from an unwarranted subtenant to a co-tenant. There's a lot of nuances to which path of action is best for you that only an experienced landlord attorney can shed. 

Disclaimer: Not an attorney, just my two cents based on my real estate experience in dealing w/tenants & landlords in the Bay Area.