All Forum Posts by: Houston Garcia

Hi David - welcome to SF soon! I'm sure you'll find it just as intriguing (but slightly less fast-paced) than Tokyo!

I'd have to agree with Tommy; Glen Park is a very family-friendly area that has a BART station that will get you to Montgomery or Embarcadero Stations in 12-15 minutes max. If you're inclined to live in the Mission, I'd stay away from the South Van Ness corridor (it's quite a busy thoroughfare, and a bit seedier/less family-friendly), and aim more towards the Valencia & Noe Valley side of the Mission. Of course, there's also options in SoMa (Howard & 1st), but those would be high-rises instead of SFH and small multi-units with charm. There's so many nuances between the neighborhoods here.

I'm happy to discuss assist you in any capacity possible (free of charge of course), before/during/after  your arrival. Feel free to reach out via PM if you have any questions about SF!

I would have to agree with Moises. Particularly due to the fact that Redwood Credit Union is a credit union vs. a big-box bank, they provide more individualized and tailored/flexible solutions for their clients. Redwood has a large share of the mortgage market north of SF up to around Mendocino. Whatever you do, don't go with Bank of America though!

I would highly recommend John Ybarra, who has over 27 years of experience with loans. Happy to provide a personal introduction via email if you'd like. 

@Adam Raty Welcome to BP! Nice to see another Bay Area native still around haha. I know a lot of people who are trying to do the "househacking" concept in East Bay - particularly West Oakland, as prices are steadily rising there. Smart idea, get in ASAP!

 Would have to agree on this - tons of investors I work with are pouring into Richmond due to its close proximity to Berkeley and also since it's not as far to SF as Antioch or Concord. There's also great margins on uninhabitable commercial buildings (such as those with chemical spills, fires, etc). 

@Melissa Yeung Happy Monday! For tax advisors, I highly recommend Tony Quach and his associates. They're locally-based and have an incredible depth of knowledge, experience, and wisdom. I can personally vouch for their track record (you can also Google or Yelp them). 

@Jim Watson - I've been passively keeping tabs on the Cleveland market for a few months now. Checked out Loopnet (I know, I know), and kept seeing lots of multis from Matthew King. He sends out a lot of off-market deals via his distribution lists as well. 

1) Fire the realtor. They should have done their due diligence in placing a non-problematic tenant in your property. Their job is to maximize your investment, not cost you money. The realtor's communication with this tenant does not seem to be helping. 

2) If she actually moved in, it is 95% likely she may have additional tenant protections due to her age and medical condition. That does not bode well in your favor in regards to any potential future evictions issues.

3) If you are scared the tenant may bring legal action (or if she did move in, since the contract has already been signed), I would contact landlord attorney Clifford Fried of Fried Williams (https://www.friedwilliams.com/clifford-e-fried). I'd be happy to connect you directly. 

Even if you aren't considering legal action or evicting her yet, it would be prudent to have an attorney's viewpoint on this matter. He is a VERY landlord-friendly attorney who has dealt with thousands of landlord concerns in SF and Oakland.

Ah, I must've misunderstood your post, as I thought you were talking about both models; thanks for clarifying the fine points on the Redfin agent model vs. traditional brokerage model (which is what I've experienced in my career). 

Anywhere other than Redfin (or a similar style brokerage) and you wouldn't get paid a salary or for just going on tour or open houses - wish we could though haha! Its interesting to see how different our brokerage models are, and how our individual markets adapt to these nuances (and vice versa).

 Just want to point out a few discrepancies with what James said. In the San Francisco Bay Area, it's completely different. With Redfin, most brokers here don't take you seriously since it is such a demanding boutique market here. You won't get far as a client or an agent with Redfin in SF - there's too many market nuances that a "discount broker" can't provide to you as an agent here. 

Additionally, there's not such thing as "associate agent" or "employee agents" here. Licensed real estate professionals are not employees. We are all independent contractors, so unless you work as a licensed assistant or get a salary from a senior team member (such as where you work just as a buyers agent for a top producer), you are not an employee. ALL agents who are full-time should/and do participate in the weekly Broker Tours, and everyone does/and should write contracts. Those are two activities that all agents perform.

For the Real Estate Salesperson License Exam, you have to take 3 college-level courses (see the CalBRE website), and theres 18 day waiting periods between each exam (although you can finish all of the quizzes at once). Then theres usually a 2-3 month waiting period until your actual test date, and once you're licensed you have to hang your license at a brokerage. 

Hey Benjamin,

I work as a real estate sales specialist (earning my Broker's license in November), and it's very difficult to land a well-paying real estate assistance job in San Francisco without prior sales experience or a license. 

If you have your license or plan to get one, it would definitely make it easier to join a team as a buyer's agent/or a real estate assistant (not showing properties/interacting with buyers). Joining a top-producing team would be the challenge since the junior positions are generally filled up pretty quickly. I'd recommend networking with real estate agents that you know or at meetups to see what may be available. 

I've seen some agents hire assistants for 6-12 months, but then had to let them go since the agent wasn't producing the volume necessary to keep an assistant - so that's where the risk of the "guaranteed job" is in this industry. Generally agents who have a full-time buyer's agent or an assistant in the San Francisco need to make around $20m+ in sales a year.

Happy to answer any questions from a brokerage perspective!