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All Forum Posts by: Joseph Vu

Joseph Vu has started 2 posts and replied 31 times.

Buying and trying to make the numbers work in the Bay Area is extremely difficult, but not impossible. The market is booming right now in the Bay, with everything listed on the MLS being sold for well over 50k on asking.

One strategy that can work in the Bay Area is that you buy a SFH in a neighborhood of your choice and build an ADU in the backyard. You move into the ADU and rent out the front. This wont completely cover your mortgage, but it should be a comparable to what you are paying for rent if not less.

ADUs are a good route of go right now in the Bay due to high rents and California practically wants you to build them.

I dont know anything about commercial real estate, but i would love to learn more.

Hey Tre, welcome! and congrats for getting in early!

BiggerPockets is a great place to learn because of all the like minded inviduals. It is good that you are highly motivated because you will need that drive to keep going. Once you get your first property it will be hard to look back. 

Do you want to be more hands on or hands off? If you want to be more hands off, take a look into turnkeys. I started off with my first turnkey this year and it led me to other things. 

Feel free to ask any questions

What is your mortgage interest rate? if its high, can you refinance? Debt is cheap now. So if your mortgage rate is 3% and you can invest your money instead and make 10% CoC with a rental property, i suggest you invest.

Post: Analysis Paralysis or Just bad deals?

Joseph VuPosted
  • Posts 32
  • Votes 18

Any property will cash flow depending how much money you have in it. Your CoC probably wont be good though lol

Have you looked into out of state? You can also join facebook wholesaler groups in your area. I usually get 8-10 properties a day to look at that way.

ADUs work great in california due to the extremely high rents. What do you mean by how they are treated? in terms of appraisal with the house?

In terms of construction or converting an ADU, everything is super expensive right now due to the costs of materials. I am currently trying to get one built right now in the bay area and i am getting quoted around 350-450 a sqft.

Both are great markets for cash flow.

Look into OKC as well. That is where I bought my first rental. My 2nd one that I am trying to close is in Indianapolis. 

Are you going through MLS? Turnkey? Do you already have a property manager in mind? I would definitely try to call around to vet the property managers as they can help you with rent comps as well.

Post: First Investent Property

Joseph VuPosted
  • Posts 32
  • Votes 18
Originally posted by @Forrest Faulconer:
Originally posted by @Joseph Vu:
Originally posted by @Ashley Nguyen:

@Joseph Vu I'm interested in a 2bd/1b townhome listed for $359k. Do you have any tips with what I should find out/ask HOA if I want to rent out a bedroom. Can you tell me more about your turnkey rentals? Purchase price, neighborhood, anything helps! Thanks.

I understand the living situation in California, it is super expensive, so if you are currently pay rent right now anyways, I would definitely consider buying some property and house hacking it. With the extra savings from house hacking you can put that towards out of state property due to its lower entry costs.

If you can afford property without an HOA I would definitely try to do that, but if its unavoidable and you can only afford a town home or condo, as long as you are paying less in comparison to what you are currently paying for rent, its a win-win in my book.

Also, I dont think most HOAs have anything against renting out a room, but you can look up who the HOA where the property is for sale and give them a call and just ask them over the phone if they allow renters and what their policy is.


I currently have a turnkey property in OKC through REI nation. I put 40k down including closing for about 250 in cash flow a month. I am trying to close on my 2nd in Indianapolis at the moment. Let me know if you have any other questions! Feel free to PM me as well.

@ashley nguyen

Pretty good cash flow for a turnkey in OKC!

thats because I didnt factor in my vacancies and repairs yet. With those factored in im sitting at about 150 a month. The property was just rehabbed with a new roof, hvac, and water heater.

Originally posted by @Lindsay Davis:

Outside of massive regulatory interference- like you get in a city like Portland, OR, or Berkeley, CA, you can make good money in most markets- and to be fair- there are plenty of people making money in those markets as well. It really comes down to your risk tolerance, ability to spot individual deals, and your investment goals- are you looking for cashflow or a quick flip?

How much are you planning to invest? Of that how much is financed? What’s your desired level of involvement- i.e. are you looking for turnkey properties that save time and provide steady cashflow or are you looking for a property that needs more involvement?

I’d say stop searching for “the perfect market” and try and find the perfect team. With that being said, we like several regions in the south- offering diverse employment bases, growing populations, and relatively low entry costs. You should also consider looking at areas with new construction activity, as other developers/builders/real estate stakeholders have done the research for you- and found that they’re likely to make a profit in a given area.

I’d read more about Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, and Huntsville- but really the entire South/Southeast meets your criteria- you just need to find the right property!

 I second this right here. 

There were markets I found that had decent properties with decent numbers, but when I went to try and identify my team in that market, they all fell short. This led me to being uncomfortable in investing in that market. 

From your list of markets that you identified, try calling property managers around in that area and see which ones you click with and find yourself working with. 


I was in the same shoes as you a few months ago, where I would just be trying to identify the best market, but as I started calling around, I found the perfect property manager to work with and this led me to identifying a contractor who can help me with repairs and rehabs on properties as well.

What market are you looking in? Maybe the cash flow is a bit low, but you will make it up with appreciation. 

I personally am only looking for cash flow, so I look into the midwest for rental properties. I get about 150 a door with a 4%/4% vacancy and repairs @ a 7-8% CoC, which isnt great but it got me started. This is through a turn key by the way, which included a new roof, HVAC and water tank.

I am now looking for properties they are a bit distressed or outdated so I can put in some work so I can achieve better returns. I feel a lot more comfortable doing this because I kinda understand how the process works now and I built relationships with property managers that I can rely on.