All Forum Posts by: Johnson H.

Sol, I like how your first goal is wealth generation and you will get that owning prime real estate in the Bay Area. I am a big proponent of directly owning assets here and those long term investors I know have tremendously benefited from the decades of price and rent appreciation that continues to occur and make them wealthy while they sleep soundly. 

I think you hit on some of the high points but in every strategy there are nuances and intangibles that are rarely talked about here on the forums. I wouldn’t worry about the repairs/construction as that can be learned over time. The main thing is to buy right. I tell newer investors that it’s easy to buy real estate, it’s hard to buy real estate and make money. In buying real estate, everyone makes money from the transaction and so every one is geared towards you closing. I have a lot of conviction owning multifamily here in the bay but I have some insight across all asset classes, if you like to discuss maybe we can have coffee or lunch to talk more. 

@Blake Lasky - I am glad you can join us. I started buying properties two years out of college so I can relate how it feels to be in the learning mode. BP is a great resource but the next level of knowledge does come from networking with folks that are in the trenches of real estate and/or have been investing for a long time that are not on BP. 

@William Coulter - Welcome William, hopefully someone will have a deal for you in the meetup!

Hi All,

It's another month and time for another real estate meetup! These meetups have had up to 82 BiggerPockets and Meetup.com members chatting about investing in the San Jose area and also out of state. Just come by and mingle, there is no set agenda. We welcome anyone who would like to attend!

When: Thursday, January 17, 2019, 6:30pm (usually I'm around at 6!)

Where: Parktown Pizza Company (Find us in the back area/room this time.)

1350 S Park Victoria Dr
Milpitas, CA 95035
http://www.yelp.com/biz/parktown-pizza-company-milpitas?sort_by=date_desc

Please support the small business by spending some money and tipping for the great service we receive every month! (I don't pay for the space nor do I receive anything from the restaurant)

In lieu of the round of introductions due to noise, you may introduce yourself and/or list your haves and wants in the comments section of this meetup.

Looking forward to meeting new investors and seeing familiar faces.

Thanks,
Johnson

South Bay , South Bay Meetup , Bay Area , Meetup , Meet up , Meet-up , San Francisco , Oakland , Berkeley , Alameda County , Contra Costa County , Solano County , Richmond , Hercules , Concord , Albany , Pittsburgh , Marin San Rafael , South Bay , Peninsula , Walnut Creek , Pittsburgh , Antioch , Pleasanton , Fremont , Castro Valley, San Jose, Milpitas, Sunnyvale, Fremont, Palo Alto, Santa Clara, Mountain View, Gilroy, Santa Cruz

@Account Closed - Let me know when it comes time for you to refinance your commercial properties and maybe I can help review the terms and provide some tips if you like. 

@Account Closed - Wow you are killing it in your niche! Instead of biggerpockets I am going to call you unlimited pockets cause you just keep buying nonstop lol

In the commercial world, having the reputation as a known closer is king versus a nobody with cash like you just said. Seems like you are enjoying the commercial space or are you going to where the deals are?

For folks that missed their chance to meet @Account Closed will be at my next meetup on Thursday, December 13. Come by and chat with them by RSVP'ing in my signature link below!

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/645633-san-jose-meetup-thursday-12-13-18?highlight_post=3829732

As for being on topic with this thread, I would say that there are low and high priced areas but as an investor you have to buy value. There is a heavy emphasis on cash flow in these forums but there are very wealthy investors paying millions for SFH or $800k+ per unit in MFH as they see the value in their long term buy and hold investments not talked about at BP. It is common to see in realtor remarks that an asset is selling for the first time in 40+ years as these owners have no reason to sell until they pass on and their heirs sell with a step up in basis to avoid capital gains taxes and reap millions in the sale.

I have done out of state investing buying foreclosures in 2010 and did well when I sold and had nice cash flow along the way but rents went no where during the eight years I owned these rentals. However, the rents in the Bay Area have increased at an exceptional clip due to the demand for housing in the past several decades and it does not seem that supply will meet demand in the decades to come. These are just a few reasons why my focus is buying in the Bay Area and I especially love San Francisco properties as there is a lot of hidden value there. 

A big thanks to Minh for sharing with me his experiences in his MFH journey for the past few years. He makes it look really easy but he is one of the hardest working and smartest person I know. Also, the more I get to know Arlen I find out how hard he works as well. These guys work hard to be at the level of success they are at to make their investments work in the Bay Area.

@Kyle Marek and @Jana Cain I just posted the meetup here as well and I hope a few more investors show up:

Join me at Pleasanton Meetup - 12/8/18
http://meetu.ps/e/G808G/FlpD/a

@Sunday Nguyen - I’m looking forward to catching up with you! 

@Kyle Marek - No problem, I am just trying to help as Jana would be late but will back off and let you and @Jana Cain lead the way. I follow the same format at my meetups with no speakers or pitches, just very casual conversation. What I mean by host is when you see folks looking around not knowing where to go, I would be the person waiving folks down and bringing them over to the meetup area, initiating conversation and making sure folks feel comfortable talking to a bunch of strangers. It is kind of tiring to play host sometimes as you get interrupted a lot so I am happy to just be a participant! 

@Jana Cain - Thanks for calling them. If @Kyle Marek doesn't want to play host I can substitute in and have to show up now :) I can post this on my meetup group if you don't mind. Let me know!

SDFCU HELOC for primary, up to 95% LTV and prime - 1% interest rate. Payment is 1% principal balance monthly, not interest only. No annual fees but there were fees to originate. Took almost two months to close but got it done.