All Forum Posts by: Joshua McGinnis

Welcome aboard @Matthew G.

First, I think the link in your signature is either wrong or outdated because it is taking me to Polish website. http://www.ocwp.co/ looks more accurate.

I'm also in SoCal (Los Angeles) and am looking for a multi-family myself. There's a lot of other SoCal'ers who are faced with the same obstacles you are, so you are in good company.

I do own a condo in Waltham, Mass (just outside of Boston) which is currently managed by an excellent property manager. I'd be happy to provide you the contact info of management company, as well as answer any questions you have about the Boston market and Waltham in particular.

There's a lot of opportunity in Boston and Waltham in particular given the number of colleges/universities clustered around such a small geographic area.

Anywho, welcome aboard.

@Ryan Parks Love the plan.

If that is the case and you don't currently own any investment properties yet, I would hold off on the LLC. Not only will you save on the costs of setting one up, there other costs you will incur, such as adding tax filing fees.

Others can chime on the timing for an LLC, but I probably wouldn't do it until you own at least 2 investment properties. Either way, def consult a CPA who knows your unique financial needs to help you make the final decision.

@Ryan Parks setting up an LLC is rather easy, and depending on the state, you could do it yourself (possibly online).

Actually, it looks like Ohio just started allowing folks to file for an LLC online for $125.

You may get more valuable information from this post if you share why you are setting up the LLC. The need for setting up a new entity is often something new real estate investors feel they need to do, but may be premature or unnecessary, depending on where you are in life.

Either way, definitely seek the advice of a CPA and depending on what your plans are, it might not be a bad idea to talk to a tax and/or real estate attorney.

@Lincoln Lewis ditto. If you can PM me the plans and any other pertinent info, I'd be happy to ping some of my developer and architect contacts and have them reach out to you.

Good to see another fellow in the entertainment business.

My wife and I are both licensed agents. @Jason Luo is correct in that you need to hang your agent license at a broker for a couple of years before sitting for your brokers exam.

Out of curiosity, why go straight for your brokers license? What advantages do you gain from having the license, but none of the experience as an agent to utilize it effectively?

Welcome aboard @Emro Alkirwy .

In my experience, seller financing becomes more prominent in tight-money markets such as the one we're slowing crawling out of here in the US. When money is tight, buyers either can't get financing or can't finance the full amount needed, making it difficult for sellers to find buyers for their properties.

When this happens, sellers will sometimes be amenable to holding a 2nd note on that property to help the buyer close the gap and qualify for a mortgage. This happens a lot when the bank wants a full 20% down, but the buyers just can't get the funds together to make it happen. In this case, the seller may hold a note for some of the downpayment so they can get the deal done and get their property sold.

Here in Los Angeles, it isn't all that common to see a seller do financing on an improved property. It is more common to see seller financing on land deals. And usually, the sellers will want a substantial (> 20%) down payment with terms that are usually aggressive (higher rates for shorter terms).

You have to put yourself in the shoes of the sellers: they're only going to consider the hassle and risk of offering financing if they stand to make a gain. In most cases, sellers want the full amount because a. they're in a hurry and b. they need the money to buy their next home.

If you can find a seller who isn't all that motivated and you can make an attractive enough offer (big down payment, decent terms), then they may consider it.

Of course, there are exceptions to just about everything said above, but this is my personal experience.

Have you accounted for the tax benefits of the added property (depreciation, etc)?

As an aside, maybe the Los Angeles market has me jaded, but $38K for an asset that produces $550 a month seems like a crazy good deal. If you put all of the $550 towards principal, you'd have the entire condo paid off in just under 6 years.

I don't know your income, but you mentioned you have other rentals so I assume you are not a low-income earner. That said, I wouldn't amortize a $38K mortgage for 30 years. It is such a small amount, I would try and find the cash somewhere or come up with a plan to pay it off in < 5 years as if it were a car loan.

I'm sure you're vacation is over, but if in case you're still thinking about investing in LA...

Frankly, I would look all over the LA westside for your investment and make your decision based on the financials, your desired rate of return, cost of investment, etc.

LA has a such a strong rental market, that you usually will not have to account for as much vacancy as you might in other markets.

According to this recent article from the Economist, 52% of Los Angelenos rent and the vast majority spend well over 30% of their income on rent.

@Joshua Dorkin will do.

In another thread, I tried it earlier and after I selected the user, I got `@user undefined` in the textarea. I was able to delete the undefined string and the reply posted correct with the tag intact.

I just tried it a few minutes ago and it worked great.

As a suggestion, it would be great if the @ tag matches showed up inline, as opposed to fixed at the bottom of the textarea. From a usability standpoint, when it's on the bottom, it's easier to miss it and more difficult to use.

Thanks for fixing it so quickly!

@Mike Hurney She just started < 6 months ago and is working very hard!

@Ali Boone Yea, it is! It was in Marietta on Farleigh Trace.