All Forum Posts by: Ian Cosley

I live in Orange County and had two multifamily properties until recently in Victorville and Hesperia. Good points are that the area is far enough out where you're not paying LA / OC prices, but close enough where you can do a day trip to check up on the property. 

I agree with Ethan - know your neighborhoods ... some areas may look nice from the outside, but have a high crime rate which will directly affect the quality of tenants you can rent to.

I live in Irvine, and invest in the HIgh desert. It’s definitely time consuming to drive up and down “the hill” for meetings with property managers and contractors ... but as i’m getting closer to having a full team of trustworthy individuals up there i feel less and less need to make the commute. I’ve almost convinced myself that it’s a worth while place to invest.  

My advice:  Get a solid property manager and good real estate agent who know the high desert.... I have recommendations I can offer if needed. 

Hello, 

I've got a couple multi family properties in the High Desert and a newly emptied unit in need of work. I'm not a fan of the handyman my property manager uses, and the last contractor I used went over budget and had the place sitting off the market for nearly two months. Anyone have any leads on reliable and reasonable general contractors in the high desert?  

Lots of great ideas here. I hadn't thought of simply updating the cabinet doors to a newer style and painting them. Also leaning towards some vinyl plank floors.

Good point on the new paint ... I've always repainted between tenants. I've gone from bright white to a duo-tone scheme that adds a more modern touch to these old units.

I guess I'm more asking if upgrading floors from cheap carpet to composite or laminate floors or upgrading the cheap particle board cabinets be wasted effort in a class C property?  Would prospective lower income tenants notice the expense and effort and be willing to pay more for the this particular unit. 

Hello there BP, 

I have a 4-plex  ( 4 x 2bd / 1ba units ... shared laundry ) that I would rate somewhere around class C. The property is built around 1980 , and to the best of my knowledge have never been upgraded.  The area is kind of run down and I can't see it improving but I still see rents raising at other rentals in the vicinity.  I recently had a tenant move out and have the opportunity to improve a unit.  

In your opinion, where should I focus my efforts in regards to improvements on this unit (or the overall building?) for the best ROI ?

Re-sign this tenant, but change your lease terms. Remove the late fee , but raise the rent and add a huge discount for paying rent early (say $200) If they want to keep paying late, they don't get their discount, they pay late and it's less aggravating.

Disclosure :  I'm not a lawyer, this may not fly.

Why not? My dad had one hand and still did the best carpentry work you've ever seen. He also owned a floor covering business doing custom tile and wood work all while managing his properties for 50 years. I can only imagine what he could have accomplished if all he was missing was a lousy leg. 

Hello, 

I have 6 rented units (so far) in the High Desert, CA ... but live in Orange County. I'm looking for leads on property management companies to handle day to day operations of the rentals. If anyone has any positive or negative feedback regarding property management firms in the High Desert, CA  ... please let me know either publicly or privately. Thank you!

A great resource for LA outsiders to find relevant information about the little neighborhoods inside Los Angeles is:

 http://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/

...it shows how wildly Income, employment rates, rent-to-own ratios, and crime statistics differ wildly between the little neighborhoods of L.A. 

My opinion  is that this sounds like a good deal to me if the place is turn key, full of long term tenants and doesn't need improvements right away. I like Phil's idea to get more profit out of the property down the road by improving and refinancing at a lower interest rate. 

Good luck!