All Forum Posts by: Justin Gottuso

I am calling BS on agents saying ‘major room for rent increases.’ I have not bought a rental property (yet), but I’m researching the possibilities. I am highly skeptical that a new owner can just come in and say ‘hey tenant whose been here for however long, I’m the new owner and you are paying $600 per month but market rates are $800 now, starting next month rates are going to market rate, want to stay or move out?’ My hunch this is more marketing ploys to entice rookie investors than it is realistic to actually increase rents considerably in a short amount of time. Right?

@Kevin Chan many people I meet say ‘why did you leave?!’ They don’t know the true cost of living there or how good they have it financially. But also about timing and priorities. There is a time and season for everything I believe and I’ve been so blessed to have lived in SoCal for the first 34 years of my life! Now it’s a new season and chapter that is focused on family and quality of life in a wholistic sense. Which led my wife and I to choose to move.

@Daniel Judge

Cool 😎

@Luis Lopez Valencia

Great! Let’s talk! Just sent you a PM.

@Fay Chen

Thanks, again, for the helpful definitions and explanation. So I’d say we are in the pre-fat FIRE stage. Our mentality has shifted with our prioritization of family and moving to Ohio. When our LA property sells and we get settled in Columbus we can decide where to invest our profits. We also plan to save a good amount each month/year to continue investing.

I haven’t worked with a whole seller yet. How was your experience with the whole seller? Did the property turn out to be as described? Any tips you can share from your experience?

I hope things go very well with the start up. What’s your W2 job?

@Philippe Schulligen

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. Like anything, education/research, relationships/mentoring/training, and experience/tile behind the wheel are three foundational elements to being excellent and successful.

I got your message and look forward to connecting more.

Hi @Daniel Judge!

Great to know you and thanks for the warm welcome. I feel so blessed and honored to be working at the James!

My wife is a psychologist. Are you in private practice, a staff position somewhere or both? I resonate with your goals! Do you have a partner/spouse or kids/family?

@Ivan Sarabia have you talked to a lender yet? you can see what kind of equity you can safely take out of your properties and apply to acquiring more, whether in socal or out of state. we bought our house in westchester/lax in 2016 and got some good appreciation. we also added a large 1180 sq ft 3/2.5 ADU. but we've decided to move out of LA to midwest/columbus ohio. are you planning to stay in LA long term? do you want to invest over 100k for a down payment for one property in LA or use that 100k to get four properties in the midwest that are cash flowing? depends on your goals/strategy i think. if you stay in LA i'd recommend finding R2 or R3 lots that have not been developed. ADU's are great if you'll hold onto it for a long time but FYI when you try and sell appraisals are tough and low ball since not too many have sold yet to compare to.

@Account Closed nice to meet you! which providence hospital? mission hills? i was at providence little company of mary san pedro for my chaplain training/residency. loved it/providence. still have friends at providence and my most recent manager was from providence mission hills. i (very recently) left my job at Dignity Health - california hospital in DTLA. moved from Los Angeles to Columbus, OH. yea, investing out of state is almost the only option if you're in LA unfortunately, but there is a LOT of opportunity out here i'm finding! it's literally another world financially. 

@Kevin Chan thanks for sharing! i'm curious, how has investing in syndications worked out? did you get the promised return on your investment beyond the initial 8% or whatever that might have been 'guaranteed'? did they actually sell in 3-5 years and make a profit? trying to get to know what it's like to invest in syndications. and with OOS investing, what part of ohio did you invest in? and why the move to the stock market? (the little bit i have invested has done incredibly well the last year so i can understand why but wondering your decision-making process). thanks!

@Ivan Sarabia

How much equity do you have built up? I just moved from Los Angeles to Columbus, Ohio by the way and when you start liking outside of california it's AMAZING what you find REI wise!