All Forum Posts by: Jordan Graham

Welcome!

San Diego local investor here. What markets were you considering to invest in?

Zeke,

It sounds like you have a great plan and the VA loan is an awesome tool. My team specializes in working with VA buyers and have helped hundreds of families accomplish their goal of home ownership. While it is true that it can be more difficult to get VA loans accepted, it is not impossible. I actually just helped a family buy a home in Chula Vista and we got our offer accepted BECAUSE my buyer was VA and the seller was very patriotic. There are strategies that you can utilize to make your offer stand out. One thing I recommend is going with a smaller lender with a great reputation. Banks like Navy Fed are very difficult to work with and have super long escrows (30-60 days on average). If you want your offer accepted in todays market you really need to be able to close in 21-30 days.

I also have an awesome spreadsheet that I use in order to crunch the numbers on investment properties to help decide whether my clients should move forward on a property or not. I would be happy to share it with you!

Cheers

I am in the same position as you, I am 31 years old and single which allows for flexibility in a living situation. It is crazy expensive here with no signs of slowing down (SD appreciates 6.94% per year on average which is higher than the majority of markets around the country).

I personally like the idea of purchasing a low down payment personal residence as a first investment, that way you have more control of what happens. If you are lacking capital or the ability to qualify, you can always partner up with someone and go 50/50. I just bought a SFH in La Mesa and partnered up on a 5% down conventional loan purchase in which we are renting out the extra rooms to tenants (I am currently paying $400 for my mortgage payment). Since you are single and able to go the roommate route, I would take advantage of that. Once you buy your first house hack and let the market do it's thing, you can take out a HELOC or refinance and leverage your property to buy more properties elsewhere.

I too live in and invest in San Diego. My strategy is to house hack one property a year while buying one property per year out of state. I used similar criteria as you and my research led me to Indianapolis and Cincinnati/ Cleveland/ Columbus because of the future outlook and low property costs. Having people you trust out of state is the biggest key to success. Remember that people will never treat your money like you treat your money!

$400,000 SFH in SD, that's how you know this was years ago! Congrats on your first property, do you plan on holding long term or selling when you move?

@Lance Trezona Thanks for the shoutout! I actually just closed on a turnkey 4 bed 2 bath near Lake Murray (La Mesa) for $730,000. Our PITI is $3,400 and we think we will be able to rent it for a minimum of $3,100 once we move out. We are converting the garage into a Junior ADU and will be able to get somewhere around $1,800 for that unit so we should be grossing around $4,900 a month in rental income. That gives us $1,500 a month in cash flow, give or take! Cash flow exists here, you just have to get creative.

Hey Avid,

What price point are you thinking? The average home price in Mira Mesa is around $850,000 so I will assume you are comfortable with those prices. Also how long are you wanting your commute to be? If you are wanting to stay within a 30 minute drive of Sorrento Valley I would suggest looking into Mira Mesa, Oceanside, Clairemont, San Carlos, Allied Gardens, and La Mesa.

I would be happy to send you the spreadsheet I use to analyze deals if you would like.

-Jordan G.

Hi Gabe,

I have not used these two personally but they come highly recommended from others at my office:

--- J&G Fence- Gerardo Amezquita

--- Alpine Fence Inc

Not asphalt but they lay concrete so might be able to help or point you in the right direction:

--- Powerhouse Foundation Repair

Congratulations on the 6 unit! Where is it located?

You will definitely be able to find multi-families in the price range in San Diego, especially in East County and south of downtown. Is there a certain part of town that you are looking to purchase in? 

I have a great spreadsheet that I can send you that is super easy to use when evaluating whether a property is a good deal or not. I would get really good at analyzing deals right now so that when the time comes, you know what will and won't work for your goals.

I think it is hard to go wrong in the vast majority of high population beach cities in California. If you are planning on living there, it really comes down to the fact that you are comfortable living in that city and feel safe.

I live in San Diego and have been heavily considering Oceanside because of the affordability and proximity to the beach. The prices will most likely continue to appreciate rapidly because of the fact that many people who want to buy in desirable parts of SD simply cannot because they can't afford it, thus being pushed into cities like Oceanside.