All Forum Posts by: Lee L.

@Robert Shadley Search "harden rentals" on BP

Hi folks --

The cheapskate that I am, I'm always trying to buy things at a discount. I came across the SimplyCash Business Card from Amex, which among other benefits gives you 5% cash back at office stores and no annual fee.

The cool thing about the office store discount is that you can use it to buy gift cards from vendors such as Home Depot, Lowes and Amazon -- my usual goto places for supplies to maintain the property and capex. Using these gift cards would effectively give you a 5% discount at these vendors. Plus, you don't have to carry around a separate credit cards for each of the vendors, or get your credit pulled 3 separate times

My question is, is this a good idea from a tax standpoint where I have to show receipts of my purchases? Or would a receipt of the gift card + the receipts of purchases made with the gift card be enough?

@Michele F. Get the credit report, and get it yourself, to reiterate @Tom Ott It's likely the new lessees are friends of the current tenants, and as friends, they might present the new people in the most favorable light. You might also want to get a hold of their past landlords and see if they were good tenants or not. Past behavior is a good predictor of future behavior

@Fay Chen Just a few random thoughts after reading the thread (interesting read by the way).

-- I've looked at condos in Pasadena and some of the HOAs seem pretty outrageous ($600 - to almost $1000). HOA period, dissuades me from condos, but that's just me. One of the things about HOAs is that if they were low, the association is often not very well funded, which could lead to poor upkeep/condition of the building, impending HOA increases, or special HOA assessments later on. If you'll be purchasing a condo with low HOA pay special attention to the overall condition of the property. Ask about how well funded the HOA is. And check for deed restrictions that would make it difficult to sell. On the other hand, paying a high HOA pretty much just sucks and makes renting rather than buying a bit more attractive.

-- Pasadena has appreciated a lot in the last few years. A nice chunk of it has come from Chinese buyers, especially younger folks with parent money. This makes it harder to not overpay especially with FHA. I don't see this letting up. But if it becomes less convenient for these buyers due to global economic or geopolitical reasons, Pasadena would be affected more so than other communities, IMO.

-- I'm sure you've considered adjacent communities. I really like west Alhambra up by Main and Poplar, and further west into El Sereno. Some of the homes are gorgeous, and cheaper than Alhambra, San Gabriel and of course South Pas. I think there are much better appreciation opportunities here. Also I really like the Lincoln Corridor in Alta Dena is interesting with the Cafe de Leche and all. 

Congrats for moving so far along in REI! Good luck on your next property!

@Satish VittalamI guess it would depend on what you were planning to do with the cash flow, and to each his own. From an investment standpoint, you might want to pop the numbers into a spreadsheet and compare different scenarios verses interest savings. 

How good of a financial decision it is really depends on your plans for the extra cash. Asking yourself that might lead you to the answer. While maximizing returns is great, an extra $700-$1k a month of fun money is really great, there's also something to be said for owning a property free-and-clear in 10 years.   

@Shawn Ackerman Absolutely yes! Especially if you're buying from a wholesaler, there are weird bills in arrears attached to it, and you are paying cash. It's not that much money considering how much risk you're taking on if moving forward without it. It's funny how seemingly cool people can suddenly turn a 180 once money is involved.  

Inspiring. Really special to see this after reading some of your books. 

Dishwasher unless your target market is Chinese people, who from my experience, don't really use dishwashers very often. 

@Manolo D. Thank you for the insights. I think I have a much better idea now. I'm certainly going to be paying more attention to shear walls and columns vs. units. I hope you manage to capture a lot of the business if/when the legislation becomes law. 

The L.A. City Council may soon pass major legislation to force owners of certain apartment buildings to retrofit their properties for earthquakes. According to the L.A. Times, the legislation may affect 13,500 wooden buildings and 1,500 "brittle apartment buildings." The cost of such retrofits would be "$60,000 to $130,000 for wooden apartment buildings and millions of dollars for taller concrete buildings." (LA Times, October 7, 2015). 

As for the wooden buildings, the legislation aims to target "soft story" buildings, commonly those with garages or commercial buildings on the first floor. 

 I'm curious if there is a database that lists the soft-story buildings that would be affected by the legislation.  

Also, I'm a bit puzzled by how soft-story buildings are defined especially when it comes to smaller buildings (2-4 units). Does "soft-story" mainly pertain to larger buildings? I see plenty of duplexes and triplexes where the living space is on top of the garage. There are also split-level type buildings where part but not all of the living space sits on top of the garage. Would you consider these to be soft-story and more prone to failure during quakes?  How have these smaller buildings performed during earthquakes in recent memory?