All Forum Posts by: J. Martin

 Calvin, 
Since you have 2 vacant units in Oakland coming up next to the hospital and don't want to run the business yourself (I have 3 people running my operation), would you be interested in having me as your tenant? :) I'm nice, take care of and have the unit inspected regularly, always pay rent early, don't bug my landlords, and won't take you to rent control court! :) I also have some over at 55th St in N Oakland just down the street from the children's hospital. Not sure which UCSF Benioff you're referring to, but I like all 3 locations. I have several references from local landlords on BP, including one on this post! ;)

*Update: Just saw @Paul Bryzek already jumped in with the idea. Way to keep your eyes open to opportunities Paul :)  Calvin, still throwing my hat in the ring. You know I'm in for the long haul, have experience in the biz, people to manage it, and good relationships with the landlords I work with, from BP. (and a free ticket to the 2018 Summit ;) I can also give you tips on managing for later when you want to try it out yourself. I'll touch base, and see if its good for both of us. 

@Steve Vaughan, it's an honor to be named :) And have had the pleasure of lunch with @Account Closed 's Mid-Atlantic Summit in April in Philadelphia. And I'm in Seattle every once in a while. So hit me up! (my number's on my profile).  And live and enjoy the life you want! ;)

My choice: 
Scott Shatford, founder of AirDNA, and cowboy of rent-to-rent short-term biz :)

Likewise, super thankful to BiggerPockets and everyone on it, for everything it's introduced me to. 
I don't think I'd be traveling the world right now without it :)

@Johnson H. introduced me to BP WAY back, and I signed up on March 14, 2011. Bought my first property on December 31, 2012, and started getting more and more active networking on BP and started a meetup group to meet more people. I posted my 3,000th post in 2015 after having started the Summit, buying several more properties, planning on leaving my 9-5 job, and starting on Airbnb. I met a lot of great folks from BP who have helped me along the way. Now I've quit my day job, am traveling the world full-time, volunteering, raised over $20K in 2017 for charity, have 20 furnished rentals, and a team of people managing them. Really interesting looking at how things have changed, and at all the great people I've met along the way that have helped out :)

Really looking forward to @Dave Van Horn's Mid-Atlantic Summit, along with @Brie Schmidt , other speakers I've been looking forward to meet, and some familiar faces :)  Thanks for putting it together Dave! So much work! But so rewarding :

That's why I'm especially thankful to everyone at BiggerPockets and everyone else that brings real estate investors together to grow :)

Cheers BP!

@Alpesh Parmar,

@Katie P., @Account Closed and @Chris V do a meetup for out of state investors in San Francisco every month. Out in the Dublin area, I think Beau Eckstein has one monthly (search google). There are also several meetups in the networking section of BP, and on meetup.com . Of course, it's great to start one of your own also. Just wanted you to be able to connect with the rest of the groups :)

 For landlord/tenant laws, differs city to city. And mobile homes are different. So check with the city you want to live in. 

Regarding land: I think a purchase of a mobile in the SF Bay will rarely, if ever, include the land. But much better if it does IMHO. 

Regarding 1031 exchange: I don't think a manufactured home, without land, qualifies as real estate. I think it's personal property. So you could not 1031 exchange into real estate, such as land with a structure on it. (check with a qualified intermediary).  It has to be for a "like kind" exchange. 

Ironically, if it were real estate, you wouldn't have to worry about the 1031 exchange as much, because you can get an exemption on the first $250K in gains if you lived there 2 of the last 5 years as a personal residence. (for singles; as of now). 

Regarding equity: Most of the equity will probably come from paying down the loan, rather than from dramatic appreciation in the value of your manufactured home. (unless you get some sweet lot rent deal..)

@Rick Giuly,

I did my first "house hack" in a 4plex in Richmond closer to the BART station, and still rent out 3 apartments on Airbnb there. Unlike @Rob Beardsley advice, (from Atherton, ahem ;) ), and @Kate R., and I think Airbnb would work fine there - especially 30+ days as @Sean Walton  mentioned.  (No offense Rob - I've just found that people from Silicon Valley tend to never spend time in Richmond, but usually happy to share their opinion about why investing doesn't work there.. - would be happy to listen to your reasoning behind your statement, although I didn't see the support. Kate, what does the city's rent control laws have to do with Airbnb? If anything, this is more reason to keep the units churning. Not less reason for Airbnb.. ?  If you approach everything as a hammer, everything looks like a nail.. but there are other ways to do it.. 

 My basis for my advice is that I keep 3 apartments about 85% occupied on Airbnb about a mile from this location, on 30+ day rentals. And while I'm closer to BART, I found that most guests are bringing their own cars and driving..  Mine are 2br, 1ba apartments. Have been doing it for more than a year here. I also own a couple single family homes in the lower-numbered streets in Richmond in an area that is "worse" than where you're looking.

Regarding the area, I think there's less crime there than at my place closer to BART. It's not fantastic. But not bad. You'll have to spend some time on the individual street. Especially later at nights and on the weekend. ..to get the real vibe. Ask the postal guy, corner store worker, and the beat cop also. It's also not too close (but not too far) from the train tracks. See what kind of noise there is. Not a dealbreaker IMHO, but something to consider in the trade-off. 

Also check the legal usage of the building. Looks like it was originally a schoolhouse, then converted to duplex. Have you been inside? Might be a little funky.. But the unfinished attic and basement spaces are a bonus. Maybe those can be converted to some usable space, or even another room or unit, depending on the configuration and time/money you have to put into it. If they're effectively 3br units, you should be able to get $2000-2700+ for 30+ day rentals. So that will make a nice dent on your mortgage payments.. 

I agree with @Jason Barnett that more and more people are discovering Richmond is one of the last affordable areas with a reasonable commute to SF. Currently 35min on BART. They're talking about the 25min ferry commute coming. Take this with a grain of salt. THere used to be a ferry running from Richmond, and it stopped because there wasn't enough service during the dot-com bust. I'm sure it will start in 2018 with all the new construction in Marina Bay. But I would expect the ferry service to stop or run into serious financial issues in the next recession in the succeeding years.. Just my 2 cents, based on history. Info

Not blessing it or cursing it, but just a couple pieces of info and things to check as you're pursuing it.. 
Best of luck Rick!

 Generally, 
SFH will cash flow less than multifamily properties. Also, with lots of homebuyers looking for an affordable place to live, there is competition and increasing prices on SFH, especially down in East Oakland (I own a 4plex down there..) - while rents are not increasing as quickly any more.

That is correct that single family homes (operated as a single unit) are exempt from rent control under state law (Costa-Hawkins). 
And it sounds like you know about the owner-occupant exemption from rent control for duplexes and triplexes in Oakland... 
That is an almost sure-fire way to unlock value, if you can live there 2 years.. 

Are you looking at the sold prices when analyzing the cash flow? Or list prices? 
Looking at auction properties that are distressed, and purchased for cash? 
Or properties that were sold w/ FHA or conventional financing?
Have you walked through some of these properties, and estimated remodel costs? 

Regardless of your financial situation, you can always find people to come in with cash on a good deal. 
But they seem hard to find on SFH cash flow in Oakland, based on the feedback I've received. (I've been out of country most of the last year..)

If you can find a bunch of great cash flow SFH deals in Oakland, you'd be able to make a lot of money, because that would be highly desired... ;)

@Chris Lopez,
Welcome out to the Bay Area!
I'm actually in Thailand. But I still consider the Bay my "home." ;)

Not an expert on this, but considered doing something similar in the Bay myself. 
A couple negatives I found during my research are: 

1) The lot rent can be very high. There are some rent control aspects, but I think that lot rent can change during transfer of ownership also. Sort of like property taxes. So be sure to find out the new lot rent, and not just look at the old. (I have seen some lot rents in the thousands of dollars. Here's one interesting article about a park in mountain view.. (working on rent control..)
- The tag-along with this is that most of the big benefits from investing in the San Francisco Bay Area (appreciation) comes from the increase in the land value. Not from the deteriorating structure (even more true with mobile home vs stick-built/wood house w/ foundation.)

2) Mobile home parks seem to have some of the most restrictive rental rules - sort of like condo HOA's - but worse. If (while) you're living there, you may be able to pull off the room rentals. May be different when you leave, and the rules can change in the mean time.

However, if you can make good cash flow (or even not have to pay rent) for several years, that could be a big swing in money for future investing. I just wouldn't expect to hit a home run with it as a deal in and of itself. And if you're doing it to "own real estate" for the long term - you're not really doing that. The "real" "estate" is the ground. That's what you want to be into in the Bay for the long term IMHO. 

Whether that be San Jose all the way up to Richmond..
Anyway, look closely at the cash flow you may be able to generate, and the potential depreciated price you would have to sell for in the future, along with potential increases in lot rents that could offset an increase in rents received (or, god forbid, a decline in rents if the jobs situation changes..)

Hey Everyone!

In my ongoing effort to meet real estate investors and network everywhere I go, who's in Thailand!?
I'll be in Chiang Mai for another couple of weeks, down to Phuket around US Thanksgiving, then in Bangkok in early December. If you're a local here, expat, digital nomad, or just on vacation and want to have a drink or dinner and bullsh*t one of these nights, tag me on this forum!

Will likely be in Tokyo, Seoul, Ho Chi Minh, Hue, and maybe other cities, so if you're in Japan, South Korea, or Vietnam, hit me up also :) And if you're in North Korea, maybe we can meet and chat through the fence at the DMZ.. Always up for an adventure! :)