All Forum Posts by: Jason Hsiao

Hi @Kurt Rieschel! Welcome to the real estate journey. If you prefer to invest in the bay, go with a small multi or newer condo that's not subject to rent control. There is a lot of supply coming on line for condos though, I'd be a little careful for the short pricing but focus on the long term prospect.

People always say you can't cash flow in the bay... they're just not working hard enough (yeah, that's right, I said it. Send your hate mail my way). $200k with leverage you can def find small MFH's in the east bay that'll work.

I also tell people to consider REIT's as well. A little bit more liquidity than holding actual properties but still good returns. If you have any questions feel free to ping me and let me know how I can help.

Interview and talk to a few architects first @Rich M.. I'm a little surprised the GC even quoted you anything without seeing what kind of materials or finishes are in the construction document. $225/sqft is high. My partners and I do projects in LA area. Even down in OC high end finishes we are only doing like $200/sqft.

Ask architects to put together site plans for the homes or condos. See what the max sqft coverage you can get for them. Do some calculation if resale comp wise it's better to build homes or condos. I'd ask 3 architects, and ask that whoever gets picked they apply the invoice for the site plans to the overall project cost.

Feel free to ping me if you have more questions; happy to share what I can.

Hi @Carolyn Morales, there's not a whole lot to zoning change. Basically it's pretty darn hard unless you're proposing for a large area that'll provide a major economic catalyst for the city. Zoning change opens up precedent for other property owner to try to change their zoning and there is bunch of public hearing complaints so from experience most cities just don't do spot re-zoning.

Personally, residential is much easier to develop and cash out or collect rent. Commercial takes much longer to place a tenant, but if you do it is nice to have a 5, 10, or even 30 year lease, especially if they're NNN. There's way to much commercial zoning in this country as it is anyway. With the info given I'd stick w/ just rehabbing the existing units or try to add on/build out add'l coverage on the lot if permitted.

Totally normal. List/sold price is not the only indicator of health of the market, which is what I'm guessing you're trying to get at. There's DOM's, median sale price, # of pending/closed sales vs active listings. There is a lot more supply coming online in Austin though, which again I consider normal. Market fluctuates, but the sky is not falling, at least not in Austin. People should be careful even though the fundamental economics growth in Austin is still extremely strong.

Hey @Terri Sarappo, I like Pittsburgh quite a bit. Haven't invested out there yet but the tech scene is growing super fast thanks to Carnegie Mellon and other schools in the area that lead to a lot of hiring and job creation, I think it's a good area for both appreciation and cash flow. Sacramento would be good, too. Slightly less nature upside catalyst other just people and capital getting pushed out of Bay Area. If there's anything I can help with either exchanging the property or locating new ones please let me know.

That's pretty normal @Diane G. I grew up in Austin, still invest back there but live in Bay Area now. Northwest Austin is not that hot compared to 78704 or 78703. I would say that's part of sellers having unrealistic expectations and just the normal strategy agents have. Bay area agents intentionally list properties 10-20% below what they know it'll sell for to drive interest and multiple offers.

First step is to check the zoning and development standards on what's permitted @Account Closed. Then you'll have to work on what to build, how much it'll cost, and then how to actually build it or finance it if the numbers makes sense.

Where's the property at? Happy to help in any way.

This is for a friend, who is planning to purchase a property directly from someone in the family. What forms do they need to prep? There's no mortgage on it currently but the buyer would need financing. 

Seems like Form 21 the purchase and sale agreement for sure, Form 17 for disclosure is good but maybe not necessary.

How would they also record the deed? Can they do it themselves with the County or should they still use a title company?

Not an CPA here but you should be @William R. Matthews IV. Keep in mind land is not depreciable though. All your costs + land acquisition cost will become your basis to calculate capital gain. I personally don't like LLC's because of the double taxation as well. There's also restrictions on how much passive loss you can write off each year depending on if it's counting as active or passive income and if you're a real estate professional.

I'd say $120/sqft, give or take $20 @Mike Flora and that's NOT including demo, permit, etc. Just the construction cost. Hard to say really without more info.