All Forum Posts by: Jason Rowlett

I'm considering leasing a lot from an owner for the purpose of renting the space to food truck vendors. It is a private lot in a good residential area; lots of other businesses around like coffeeshops, grocers and salons. The area is 83' x 48' so I figure I can park 6 or 7 food trucks on it. It has been used as a profitable food truck park in recent years. 

Can anyone with experience with leasing to food trucks tell me about contract terms with them? How did you negotiate rental rates? How did you incentivize vendors to sign and stay? What risks did you have to deal with?

You are correct. I have since backed out of this deal and found another, better opportunity nearby. Thanks for the feedback!

The lot is a triangular shape on a busy frontage road. It is zoned for food trucks; it has power and water at the street. There are no street lamps around it, though. There are some more food trucks half a mile down the road. The biggest downside is that I live 100 miles away from the place so preventing others from squatting will be an issue. The biggest reason I wanted this lot was because it is only $450/mo and I can park 4-5 trucks at >$500/mo, so its a handy profit. Trucks could potentially park on the street right in front of the lot as well. I'm still debating it...

I have an opportunity to purchase a lease for $450. Lot is 0.14 acres on a street with heavy traffic. The owner says it’s a good opportunity for food truck rentals. It is zoned commercial. I have not yet gone down to see it but from satellite imagery it looks good. 

I’ve never done a land lease and never worked with food trucks. I know I need to make sure the trucks are insured, have fire permits and that I am insured. I will be looking over the lease terms this week. 

What are the downsides here? Any blind spots I should lookout for? Anyone already doing this with any advice? Thanks. 

As a realtor, what do you find frustrating about using the MLS? I am working on building a new digital platform that will take on the MLS and provide a better service and experience. I solicit any detail you can share. Thanks!

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Santa Clara.

Purchase price: $200,000
Cash invested: $60,000

Junior bedroom/Studio condo in the heart of Silicon Valley. 440sf currently renting at $1,800/mo. 2 miles from Apple's "Spaceship" campus HQ. I put in brand new flooring, new paint, new draperies, closet door and bathroom fixtures. Originally built in 1971, this condo looks great for its age! I lived in it for 2 years before moving to Austin, TX. I have rented it out consistently since then. It is currently occupied through Feb 2020.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I bought this when the market was down in 2012/13 and Apple Inc. had yet to purchase the HP campus 2 miles away. It appraised at $185k in January 2013 but the seller wanted to get it off his books fast and said he wanted $200,000. I agreed to that price because I knew that was still a great deal for this location and he was willing to not list it which meant that I had no competition!

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

My agent knew the seller personally and did great work for me in brokering this deal.

How did you finance this deal?

I put $60,000 down and financed the rest.

How did you add value to the deal?

I put repainted the whole interior, installed new, beautiful cheery wood flooring and upgraded several fixtures.

What was the outcome?

It is currently valued at $375k. A fantastic outcome!

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Should've done it sooner and will do it again!

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Ryan Nunnally with KW

Do agents have a lot of trouble with network connection in the field? Specifically, being able to access property data from the web. I have known this to be a problem with some agents and I wanted to know how big the problem might be?

I am a real estate investor but I am also a web developer. I am looking at developing a Progressive Web App for MLS and other realty websites. A PWA loads the data locally from the phone, not remotely from a server. It runs on all mobile devices and across all major browsers.

Is this something that would be useful to agents when they are in 'dead zones'?

Hello, I am selling a condo I rent out in Silicon Valley. I will net about $250k and I would like to invest that money as a down payment into my first apartment building. Let's say the apartment I buy is $1M and I put down 25% and borrow $750K -- I will have no money left over for monthly payments on that amount.

So my question is, will a bank consider rental income from occupancy as income for the loan? Or, do I need to prove other sources of income to secure the loan?

Can anyone provide insight on the Tiny House trend going on? I am considering purchasing land, have tiny homes built on it and rent them out. I would be investing in Austin, TX, where this seems to be a growing trend with the current tight inventory of conventional housing and lots of surrounding land. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

I am an information broker with a passion for real estate and research. I can provide specific information in white paper format on the hot market of Austin, Texas, for you. (Other markets are available as well) Specific homes, self-taken pictures, financial history and much more is available for the savvy investor looking to make a move in the Austin market. Contact me today: [email protected] mobile: 832.649.0460