All Forum Posts by: Alex K.

@Colleen F. For my very first lease I went through my realtor who listed the place, found and screened the tenants, and did all the paperwork. I had a lot going on at the time and it was the best option, but it did cost a price $$$.

@Colleen F.

It’s a condo with an hoa, so my long term capital expenses I believe are fairly minimal since the hoa covers almost everything structurally and behind the walls.

When you say local law, is that at the state level or county level?

Hey everyone! Thanks in advance for any help with these questions. I currently live in Southern CA, I have my last residence as a rental (5 miles away). Last year was my first year as a landlord, and knock on wood its been super easy. Granted, when I lived there I did a lot of work so it’s definitely one of the nicer ones in the area. During the last 10 months, we just had 1 repair request for an appliance, for which I used my home warranty. I self manage this one and our primary means of communication is through text. These tenants pay a day early like clockwork. Rent is currently $2200, all my expenses said and done are $2061, leaving me $139 in the green. It is a 2bd/1ba, approx 950sq/ft, no garage but a carport with storage.

Questions I have as I approach a lease ending in Mid November, 2 months away…

• -How much notice do I need to give before I ask if they are staying or leaving?
• -Do I tell them rent will go up $50 before I ask if they stay or find out if they are staying first..
• -My rent is on the higher side of the comps, but the HOA keeps going up each year.. ($316 now) Last year it went up $36 and I just talked with them and they are proposing it will go up again, how much, I don't know. Is it reasonable for me to tell the tenants I am increasing rent to cover the costs? For some reason I feel if I give them the reason it's just to cover my increased costs, they'll be more likely to understand.
• -If they are leaving, can I start showing the place while they are living there?
• -If they are staying, can i just get a quick renewal lease that says “everything from previous lease agreement is extended to xx/xx/xxxx date.”?
• -If they go, how does a final walk through work? If they stay, should I do a walk through inspection before the lease is renewed? Do they have to be present for this?
• -Which deposits are returned and which do I keep? Security deposit, pet deposit, key deposit.

They are really good tenants, they pay on-time/early, no issues, easy to talk with. Do I even risk upping the rent? If they say they won’t stay for the $50 extra, can I go back to their current price and ask if they’ll stay again?

This is my first lease renewal so I know some of the questions are elementary.

Thank you!

@Anna Sagatelova

I didn’t know that... thanks!!

Thank you all for your input!

The other stale unit is in the same complex and is the same layout at mine, 2bd 1ba similar sq ft. Although mine is more updated. New floors, doors, trim,paint, kitchen, etc. The other one is fairly outdated so I am hopefully that is why it's stale. I know there are a bunch of renters in the community.. I wish there was a way to see how much they pay to get more realistic numbers.

I just refi'd in Feb, @ 3.6% (supposedly condo's are harder to get a lower rate than sfd) but I will open to refi'ing again in August once I hit the 6 month mark.

I am all about having multiple plans, so if the rental aspect doesn't work out and i have to sell, I could use the 40k equity to jump start my long term goal of out of state multifamily rental properties. So there are definitely options. 

Hello everyone,

I currently live in a 2bd 1ba condo ~950 sq ft., which I’ve owned for the past 2.5 years, in Orange County California. My wife and I are looking to purchase our next home, planning on it being our “forever” home.

We are hesitant on what to do with our current place. My dream would be to rent it out. We have a good chunk for a down payment on the next place so the equity from my current place (only about 40k) won't make or break our next purchase. Every one of my friends and family that has sold their first home have all wished they kept it back then and that having any kind of property in Orange County is worth holding onto.

Reasons I’m hesitant...

Our total mortgage (P&I, Taxes, Ins, HOA) is roughly $2150. Open rentals in that area I have seen range from $1900-2200 (According to Rentometer, the average is $2040, within a 1.5 miles). I won't be cash flowing, but someone will be paying my mortgage and overtime hopefully rent is raised, maybe a refi is thrown in, which can both increase that cushion. Our place is fairly remodeled so I'd say it is on the nicer end of what's in the area. With the HOA, I would think that takes care of most of my CapEx and I'll have a chunk of change for a few months of reserves.

According to a quick rental search, there are 3000+ open rentals in Orange County, within a 5 mile radius of me there are about 200.. (Although within that 200 it ranges from million-dollar homes to very low income, etc.) and within my same exact community there is 1 open for rent that’s been on Zillow for 90+ days (assuming Covid has a big reason for that), marketed right about $2000. So, I see that one struggling and I assume mine won’t have much luck?

What are some of your thoughts? Has anyone held onto property that wasn’t cash flowing for other reasons?

Any feedback is appreciated.

Thanks!

Thank you all for your input!

I’m 30 yrs old and it looks like we will be working with our budget a little closer to see what will and will not work.

Like most of you said, I think this one will be more personal long term reasons for buying our next place.

Hey everyone,

This is one of my first few posts here. My wife and I are currently living in Orange County, California and we are looking to purchase our next home. We are being fairly picky and hoping we can find something we can call our forever home (Who wouldn’t like not having to move again, right?). Something we can foresee meeting anything our future might hold (Location, neighborhood, school districts, bed/bath, lot size, yard, slight fixer upper potential, etc). It turns out we are coming across a few that actually meet the criteria.

The issue is, our price range is 650-750k, and as you’d probably guess, the ones that hit our criteria are mostly on the 750k end, while the 650k ones look like they need close to 100k of rehab anyways. Part of me is wanting to wait and wait until that super discounted amazing house comes in at like 650 or 700k… but I don’t know if I’m being reasonable expecting that and will miss a great home while I wait.

After running the numbers, it’s a 300-500/month mortgage difference. Which, with mine and my wifes work, we can do. It’s not going to break the bank. Also, even though It’s not in our plan A, a future refi can easily fix that mortgage difference down the road.

What I am wondering is, when it comes to that “Forever Home”, the home you hope to be in for 20-30-40+ years. Does that 50k purchase price difference really matter? Will I look back in 30 years and be super stoked I got what I could for 750 or regret that I didn’t get that killer deal? I could be potentially buying at a housing market high, but then again, will it really matter in that long of a run? Orange County is very pricey and desirable no matter what the market is doing, so i don't see the real estate ever dying out around here. 

What are some of your thoughts? Has anyone been in a similar circumstance? That spent the little extra on the place they know will be the longer-term place?

Any feedback is appreciated! On a side note, being set up in a home for the future and not having to save for the next down payment means we can start saving for some out of state rentals, which is our long-term goal as well.

Thanks!