All Forum Posts by: Wai Chan

@Justin R. Thanks for the response. 

The site is CUPD-CT. Per the municipal code if none of the lot is in the CUPD zone it will be considered as RM-2-5. Since this CT lot doesn't extend to the CUPD zone so I can consider it as a purely multiple family lot.

You made a very good point on the affordable rent. The code said the following:

Made affordable to very low income, low income, or moderate-income households (30% of 50% AMI, 30% of 60 AMI and 30% of 100% AMI for rental units)

The code has made the affordable housing income requirement very clear but it doesn't tell us what is the ratio required for each income group. Can I make all the affordable units only for moderate income household? 

Per the county website 2021 AMI:
80% AMI for a household of 4 is US 97000. 30% of that is US 29100 so the monthly rent can be US 2425. That is still considered as a very high rent for a 2 bedroom apartment in City Heights!!!
30% of 50% AMI is US 1515/month of rent. That is still not too bad in City Heights.

It seems that it makes perfect sense to build affordable housing in City Heights.

For these type of land use question, where is the best place to get the correct answer? The city office on 1st ave or do I have to hire land use attorney to interpret the code for me? Seems like a overkill to hire attorney for a small project...

I have a MF site in City Height that is CUPD-CT-5-4 which I can build 5 units + 1 ADU legally. The site is in transit priority area so technically I can utilize the ADU bonus density to build unlimited number of ADU. The zoning has a 1.1 FAR right now. Does anyone know if I use the ADU bonus density will I get more FAR? I also read that my land is zoned in Complete Communities Plan and it does say that the FAR will be higher but I don't know if it can be used in conjunction with the ADU bonus density. Does anyone know anything about this regulation?

I understand that I would need to make the units to be affordable housing if I want to use the ADU bonus density. Does anyone know how does it work actually? Once I have built the units I would need to rent out those units through the Housing Department? If the units are put on the free market how do the government make sure the rent is affordable for the low income family?

Appreciate all the feedback and guidance. Thanks in advanced. 

@Twana Rasoul

It is a very good point. I have the same thought as you too. I also realize that in most cases I would spend more on the repair cost for my DFW houses vs the triplex in San Diego. The property managers surely don't shop around the price for me even though they said they do. For example, I was recently charged US1500 to do tree trimming (15 feet tall max) and yard clean up for a 350K house in Plano vs I paid US1350 to remove a whole 40ft palm tree for a 1mil triplex in San Diego. That is the only thing I hate investing out of state.

I agree with Swanny that there is no right or wrong in terms of investing. As long as it makes money and you feel comfortable with it every investment is good investment. I started my RE investment by buying 8 SFRs in DFW area in 2014 and started buying triplex in City Heights in 2015. At the beginning the DFW investment was great as cap rate is very good (8,9% in good area). Then the property tax, insurance has kept increasing every years and the rent just cannot keep up with the pace. Also, investing out of state means that you have to put all your trust to the property manager. It sucks because you can ensure that the property manager will not give a damn to your properties by making 8-10% of your rent each month. So you will end up spending more on your repair cost because I guarantee they won't spend much time helping to figure out how to save your money. Consequence is that it hurt the cash flow. At one point I really hate myself not buying more locally and instead investing in DFW area. I have been thinking selling the whole portfolio in DFW but I end up not doing it. 

Come to 2021 the rent and price appreciate by a lot in DFW. I was shocked that rent has increased by 30% after my previous tenant moved out. Appreciation is >100% since I have purchased in 2014/2015. Now I am glad that I didn't sell any of my SFRs in DFW.

The verdict is that you never can predict what will happen in the market so I would suggest investing the things you are more comfortable with. Again there is really no right or wrong here. Don't listen to people telling you should either invest locally or OOS. Those are just noise.

One of my tenant moved out today from a SFR in McKinney 75069. It is a 3 bedroom house, 2000 sq ft. Rental grade remodeling. Nothing fancy. Old rent was US1800 and my property manager was telling me that he want to raise the rent to US2400 since the market is crazy now. Low availability, multiple offers with site unseen. I am not located in DFW area so I don't know if it is that crazy now. I don't mind getting more rent but want to understand if it is even possible. Please share your thought.

Yes that's right. That's the beauty of the San Diego market. I also has almost zero vacancy (maybe a 2-3 weeks because of the make ready time) for the past 5 years. 6% is not great but it's not bad either especially you get a huge amount of appreciation for the past 10 years (i would assum you already have at least 80 or 100% appreciation....) 

I also have some properties in DFW area but if I would do it again 5 years ago I will buy a few 2-4 units in San Diego vs 8 SFRs out of state....

@Chris Ng

That is interesting...All the properties I purchaesd in San Diego cash flow very well. (I only charge below market rate rent btw....) I purchased those triplex in City Heights from late 2015 to mid 2018. I would think any investment properties purchased in 2010 can cash flow.....unless you have only purchased luxury houses in 2010 but those should not be considered as investment properties anyways.....

@Brock Thomas hello, would you recommend some zipcode for multifamily apartment? thx!

@Mark Huang

H cabinet definitely has almost the lowest price i can find in San Diego. A few months ago I paid around 10K for 2 houses materials (3/2.5, 800sq ft, 2/1.5, 500 sq ft) for all the kitchen cabinet, bathroom vanity, sink, countertop, vinyl flooring....however quality is definitely not good. The side panel of all the cabinet they sold are not painted. Feel like cheaper than IKEA billy bookcase. You get what you paid for and it maybe good enough for low end flip/rental.

For other supply like electricial, plumbing, misc stuff you can actually find better deal in amazon. Not the best quality material of cox but again if you are looking for material for low end flip/rental amazon is no brainer. Best return policy....

@Dan Heuschele do you mind explaining further how do you get access to a cheap loan(maybe as a line of credit when you need it) I have enough assest (equity) but I always want to know how I can access to it temporarily when I need it (not doing cash out refinance)