All Forum Posts by: Jen Day

Hi Devon, I did a house hack exactly like you described where I purchased a 4 plex to be my primary residence and then rented out all the units when I moved out.  I put an interesting twist on mine because at the time I was a single woman with no kids and only had one roommate that wanted to live with me.  So, instead of taking over the "one bedroom unit" I took one bedroom in the front house, which is a 3 bed/2 bth house. Then I rented out each room separately so I was able to make more on rental income than I would if I were to just rent out the entire house as one unit, and I still had the other three units bringing in rental income.  This is not an easy task, as most renters want to have their own place for long term leases. However, I discovered this wonderful site called FurnishedFinder.com where renters are looking for 2-6 month leases in a furnished place, and they are open to "room for rent" arrangements.  Most are traveling nurses or traveling professionals who get hired for a few month contract. Because my house was furnished (because it was my primary residence initially) this type of rental system has been working great for me. I will say to do your numbers with enough of a cushion when you're looking to "cover expenses" because often times the Landlord is responsible for paying some utilities such as water, trash, & gardener for the entire property.  Many multifamily properties in LA area don't have separate water meters, and tenants can use a lot of water, especially when they aren't the ones paying the bill.  To give you an idea, my water bill for 4 units and 12 people is around $300/month. Trash is about $100/month and the gardener is $120/month. Also, if the water heaters are not brand new, expect that you will have to replace them within a few years at $1000 each, can't have tenants without hot water.  Just a couple things to keep in mind when doing your numbers. That's my favorite part actually, analyzing the deal. Let me know if you'd like some help running the numbers on a specific property, I'm happy to give you my quick analysis coming from experience in LA multifamily. Best of luck to you! 

Hi Omid, I agree the time to remodel and spend the money is now when you have a vacancy. I am actually having to do that myself because a tenant just moved out that had been there for 10 years. You definitely want to maximize the amount of rent you can get and have that become your new minimum rent that you can raise 3%/year with rent control laws in LA. Once you put a tenant in there, you don't know how long they will stay or if you may have to deal with an eviction if they won't leave. With the new Covid policies regarding eviction moritoriums that KEEP GETTING EXTENDED you just don't want to risk having to deal with a less than desirable tenant just because they were willing to look past some flaws with the unit. A side note when you are looking for your next property, there are several cities that are their own city in LA County that are NOT subject to rent control. Hawthorne is one of them. I own a 4plex there and after the initial renovations I did on the property, all my tenants wanted to stay and I was able to raise the rents 30%! I'm not joking. They were paying well below market rent and they were happy with all the improvements I made to the property, so they were amicable to such a huge rent increase. A friendly word of advice for your next purchase in LA County, look for those singled out cities that do not have rent control. It will be so much easier to control your ROI. Best of luck with the remodel. I'm happy to help when you're ready for your next one.

Hello Bryce, Often comps for SFRs with ADUs or JADUs are not easy to find in your property's location, and the LA County market is very local specific for pricing. That said, a sold property with similar square footage, lot size and condition will usually be pretty comparable for what a Lender Appraiser or Investor company will be looking at. My advice to get the most money when selling your property, is to price it a touch under the comps to cast the widest net and get the most eyes on the property to create a Buyer frenzy, AND have as many open houses and showings as possible. My suggestion for your target Buyer in this case will not be an investor, it will be an end user/family who will be more likely to come see the property in person several times and will be willing to spend more because they can see the potential for their family to actually live there and have the JADU for either in laws or to rent out over time. I just sold a total FIXER 2 bedroom/1 bathroom SFR (1300 sqft) in Westchester for $1.3M ($100k over the asking price) because it went to an end user. It has a detached 2 car garage that can be turned into an ADU, but most of the investors that wrote offers did not see the property in person so they didn't realize the incredible potential this property has. The end user came twice and fell in love, so they were willing to spend more to out bid everyone else. Side note to investors looking to buy fixers...go see the property in person! Your competition from bigger companies probably will not go, and then you will have the advantage to see the potential in a property first hand. You may not need to offer that much more, and if you can build a report with the Listing Agent, they will be more likely to give you the answers to the quiz, and then you got yourself another property. Best of luck with your sale Bryce! - Jen Day

I found this in person Real Estate meet up event. I've never been, but I plan on attending it to make some more connections and have more resources in my bag of tricks. See you there!

Real Estate Vendors Expo

Thursday, April 14, 2022, 6:30-10:30pm

Inman Events Center

3376 Motor Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90034

(Culver City, between National & Palms)

Hi David,

I saw your post on the Forum, and I literally was searching for a meet up here in LA today as well. I found this Real Estate Vendors Expo on April 14th, 2022 at the Inman Events Center in Culver City through Meetup.com - I've never been, but I plan on attending it to make some more connections and have more resources in my bag of tricks. See you there!

Real Estate Vendors Expo

Thursday, April 14, 2022, 6:30-10:30pm

Inman Events Center

3376 Motor Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90034

(Culver City, between National & Palms)

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Se Habla Español | 25 Years Experience

I live in LA and bought a 4 plex for my first investment with the goal of house hacking. Rents in LA are super expensive, as you know, so I could no longer justify paying monthly for something that wasn't going towards my own equity and gaining the benefits of being a property owner. Especially owning property in Southern California, it's so valuable it will be a good investment in the long run. That said, you still need to run the numbers and make sure you are buying a good deal for your situation at this time. One thing that I'm planning on doing, that many investors do, is when you purchase with financing, you can get a much better rate if you are "owner occupy" but you only have to live there for one year. Then you have the options of moving out and placing a tenant in your unit, you can refinance, you can do a cash-out refinance and BRRRR and do this all over again with another property. All the while, you are NOT paying rent towards someone else's equity & lifestyle. I am an Agent, I specialize in representing investors looking to buy multifamily properties (my favorite part is analyzing deals!). I am also a Property Manager, so I can help you place tenants & handle the applications, leases & managing repairs when the time comes. Best of luck to you Alex, and let me know if I can be of any help to you on your investing journey.

I am a real estate Agent & Property Manager in Los Angeles, specializing in West LA cities & working with investors. I own a multi-family rental property, so I learned first hand the best ways to manage a property & keep long term tenants. I also learned what to avoid and how to prevent issues before they happen. There are many new ordinances & landlord/tenant laws that have come out in LA County since Covid, and it's important to know the ins & outs of this specific market. I can help you list your units, screen potential tenants, do in person showings, handle lease agreements, supervise and refer vendors for any repairs, maintenance, or remodeling, and take calls from tenants day or night. I can also help you purchase your next rental property, or help you sell when the time comes. My team is small & efficient, so your property is our priority. We work from home or out in the field so we don't have the storefront overhead. That's why we only charge 5.5% fee. You keep more of your cashflow in your pocket and don't have to worry about broken toilets or tenants calling you at all hours. I got you covered. Call/text me to set up your rental property today! FB: JenDayAgent & IG: JenDay_Agent 

I am an agent and I have an investor client looking for an off market multi-family property in Los Angeles County. Triplex or 4 plex under 1M. Fixer or Retail. Location is flexible. If you are a wholesaler or flipper looking to sell your property, my client may be interested in buying it before you put it on the market. Please get in touch with me. Thanks! - Jen Day - [email protected] - 310-593-4757 

I am an Agent and I have a client looking to purchase a Triplex or 4plex in Los Angeles County under 1M. Location is flexible. Can be fixer or retail sale. Pre-Approved Buyer. If you have a property for sale currently, or soon to be available, please get in touch with me. My buyer is ready to move asap. Thank you.