All Forum Posts by: Keegan Jones

Hello fellow San Diego Investors,

I have a friend and work associate that is looking for place to rent ASAP in the San Diego area and is willing to move in ASAP. He literally drove down here from the Bay area to find a place and is staying at an extended stay hotel.

Area: No further east than 15, north than 56, or south of Downtown
Unit type: Preferably a 2bd/1bth but is willing to consider 1/1.
Amenities: At least one dedicated parking spot. Preferred laundry in-unit or onsite. Nice to have a balcony or patio
Budget $2k-$2,300
Preferred Lease: 6 month, but is considering 1 year

Has a steady job working for one of the largest tech/social media companies in the world and just could not stand living in the Bay area anymore. 

Thank you,
Keegan

@Matt Devincenzo I am speechless! You, my friend, are one of the many reasons the BP community is so awesome! Thank you for taking the time to explain this and providing the example. I owe you a beer or two! 

Maybe I am just making a mountain out of a molehill here and it is not even an issue. 

Thank you for the responses, and great ones at that!

@Ed O. 

- We have not built any developments before and only have experience working with GCs and sub-contractors. We are still very much in the nascent stages of this process and experience. Luckily, we have a couple of very close contacts, who have done much larger developments, will be advising/coaching along the way.

- Yeah, we are trying to avoid headaches rather than create them. 

- Good question about the dual meter: it is, however, I am going to confirm today if the adjacent property is a duplex (which I am pretty sure it is) and if that is a separate meter for the second unit. 

The property was previously under escrow but fell out because the last buyer "didn't want to deal with the headache of the water meter." I use quotations there because that is what the listing agent told us.

@Matt Devincenzo Thank you for your expert opinion. I guess it would be a matter of easement for access. What solutions--creative or apparent--have you seen to solve this problem? I understand each situation will dictate the measures taken. 

@Matt Devincenzo

Hello all,

We are considering purchasing a parcel of raw land here in San Diego County (Mission Valley area for anyone who is familiar with the area) and developing a triplex on the property; however, the neighbor's water meter is directly on the property line--let me explain. 

The neighbor had a water meter installed on the side of their house which butts-up with the property line between the prospective plot of land and their land. Additionally, they cut a small hole in the fence so SDG&E (the utility company here) can read the meter from the empty lot. I am not sure yet if the fence belongs to the neighbor or to the current land owners, since the entire property is already fenced in.

I am half-tempted to purchase the land, close the hole in the fence, and tell the neighbor to figure it out, since they knowingly put the meter on the property line without consulting the adjacent landowner, i.e. the seller of the land, but, saner minds have prevailed and I would rather not come into a property and start strong-arming the neighbors.  I just want to see what the great community of BP has to say about this? Do you think this would be an issue in the future? I don't want schedule a time every month for SDG&E to come check the meter for the neighbor's water bill. What ways can I turn this into a success? 

This will be the first raw land development project we do, so any input is greatly appreciated,

Thank you!

@Jonathan Greene thank you, sir. It is a really nice vanity, I may just replace the second bathroom vanity with it. 

@Dave Spooner it's a suburban SFH that's had the same tenant for quite a few years so who knows why they put it in. It looks like a new vanity as well.

@Linda S. Yeah, I guess everyone has their justifications for various "upgrades". The property was not a Section 8 rental, we are turning it into a Section 8 rental. We are planning on capping the pipes as the house is about 1700 sqft. so nothing too big and the bathroom is just down the hall. Since we will be using it as Section 8, chances are the room that it is located in would go to a child, and I would rather not have to deal with giving a child access to a sink in their carpeted room. Additionally, it is taking up 5ft x 4ft area that could be better used for storage, play area, etc.

@Scott Mac Thank you for the input.

@Joe Splitrock Don't make decisions based on your personal taste or what you would like if you lived there. You may be surprised how fast your improvements are actually destroyed by tenants, so don't go overboard fixing things based on your personal taste.

I can see your point and you do have a valid argument; however, I am looking at it from the standpoint that I would rather spend the money to have it removed and capped than to worry about another potential point of failure, as I plan to keep this rental for a long time. Spend money on things that can leak or move, save money on parts that standstill.

@Lynnette E. Your response is why I come to BP forums. That is such a great insight and response actually makes the most logical sense especially since we are trying to attract a good Section 8 tenant which would include those with special needs children. 

@Dave Spooner thank you the input. The house was built in 1995 so it is relitively new. I am definetly leaning more toward having it removed. Thanks again

Hello all,

I am currently under contract on a 4bd/2bth property that will become a long-term section 8 rental. However, one of the additional bedrooms has a working bathroom vanity with sink installed; worse yet, it is on carpet. This is not the master bedroom and is not even attached to a bathroom so I don't know what the intent behind the sink was when it was installed--seems like a waste of money to have a plumber run lines IMO.

My question is what would some of the more seasoned investors suggest we do? Leave it as is? Have it removed?

It just seems like such a waste of space in the room, would only invite bacteria on the carpet, and is an unnecessary area for possible plumbing problems in the future.

Thank you

@Alexander Kim

Just to echo what a few other members have already mentioned: 4 units is the max for VA loans. I am escrow myself on a VA loan up in Oceanside, CA not too far from you, if you want a referral for a lender message me.