All Forum Posts by: Leo Quinones

Investment Info:

Single-family residence Rental Arbitrage in Orange County, CA.

Rental Rate: $1,800
Cash invested: $7,000

This is a 1-Bedroom Back House Apartment (House Hack)

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I already had another airbnb arbitrage that I was operating and when this deal came up it was easy to act on it.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Through an agent relationship. The owner was having a hard time leasing it. Owner was asking $2,200/mo but we agreed to $1,800/mo, $800 deposit, and that I take care of any repairs under $200.

How did you finance this deal?

Credit card for the furniture and savings for the rent and deposit.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

This property is located in a residential neighborhood and I had a lot of issues with guests throwing parties and having too many unauthorized guests. This caused issues with the neighbors and was also damaging the home with excessive use/smoke damage.

Since then, I have modified my rules to come across as very strict and have installed noise/smoke monitors. Have also modified booking requirements to where I mostly host guests for 7+ day stays. (Less use/more income). That has helped a lot!

Investment Info:

Single-family residence other investment in Westminster.

Purchase price: $1,800
Cash invested: $7,000

1 Bedroom back house apartment

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I already had another airbnb arbitrage that I was operating and when this deal came up it was easy to act on it.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Through an agent relationship. The owner was having a hard time leasing it. Owner was asking $2,200/mo but we agreed to $1,800/mo, $800 deposit, and that I take care of any repairs under $200.

How did you finance this deal?

Credit card for the furniture and savings for the rent and deposit.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

This property is located in a residential neighborhood and I had a lot of issues with guests throwing parties and having too many unauthorized guests. This caused issues with the neighbors and was also damaging the home with excessive use/smoke damage.

Since then, I have modified my rules to come across as very strict and have installed noise/smoke monitors. Have also modified booking requirements to where I mostly host guests for 7+ day stays. (Less use/more income). That has helped a lot!!

I have full access to the MLS and I am used to analyzing deals fairly quickly here in CA. But one of the main drawbacks I noticed for people looking to purchasing Multi-family homes, is that it's hard not only to analyze deals that you find online (like on zillow, redfin, ect) because they don't show all the income/expense information but it's also hard to refine your search criteria.
 

I know this because I have a very hard time analyzing out of state properties without reaching out to the agent to ask for all the info and they almost never show if its a 2, 3, or 4 unit property (unless they specify in the description... which who has time to read every single description lol) ... It seems like they only show the bed/bath count... which is frustrating to me bc I normally have access to all that information. 

That being said, I don't think getting a license is the only solution -- I think if you found an agent that is willing to set you up on alerts for all 2-4 units that becomes available in your desired area and have them send you alerts straight from the MLS (not their IDX/personal website) you'll have access to at least the income and unit breakdowns.

Here is an example.. as an agent this is the income/expenses that I see on my end:

Now, compare that to what it would look like if you were sent this by an agent:

MLS Property Listing Alert

You would still get the unit mix, income and overall expenses, but not the full breakdown of expenses. Which in my opinion, is enough to start with. And if in the future you feel having a license/full access to the MLS would help your REI journey, that's completely up to you.

Hi Stella,

It really depends, because criteria changes a lot when you're buying for personal reasons vs investing. There are a so many factors you need to consider, such as:

• What is your primary home worth? How much rent will you be receiving? What is your return on equity? Could my investment be moved elsewhere to a higher performing property?
• What is your replacement property cost? How much will your down payment and payments be? Are you comfortable with the payments?

**Investment Property: this can go in so many ways. Hard to say without requirements/budget/goals

It seems to me like you have a lot of options right now. I would suggest starting by running your numbers first on your primary home to see how much rent you would be receiving and running numbers on your replacement property. If the numbers don't make sense for you personally/financially then maybe it would be a better move to just stick to purchasing another investment. 

Hi Jacquelyn, 

That's a very valid concern! A home gets the most amount of attention in the first 2 weeks and if you are not priced right(too high) you will end up chasing the market with price drop after price drop and may ultimately sell for less than if you had priced it attractively in the first place. 

Buyers are starting to be a little more pickier these days (and with good reason). Due to the home price inflation and rising interest rates, buyer's need to feel as if they are getting somewhat of a deal.

So, that being said, besides price -- also look to see what other things could be done to the home to increase the marketability of the home such as:

• exterior painting, gardening, and pressure washing to up the curb appeal
• Deep cleaning/decluttering
• Minor repairs or updates

Every home/situation is different. Some may really benefit from these items, but other times there isn't any use if the target buyers are going to completely renovate the home anyways. As far as price goes, if you find an agent that is in tune with the market, they will be able to gauge what the market activity will be and price accordingly. But I suggest to price it at fair market value, the market (buyers) ultimately decide what the home is worth and how high it will go. 

Let me know if you need any referrals for any of those services or if you have any follow up questions!

Hello everyone! I am constantly on the hunt for HH homes all over the LA/OC area and decided to start sharing interesting properties I come across here on Bigger Pockets.

I am a Real Estate agent in the Los Angeles/Orange County area and I was involuntarily introduced to house-hacking by one of my first clients back in 2016. She opened my eyes to the power of house hacking and I have since sold her many homes since. I strongly believe it's one of best ways to start in real estate.

About this home:
Santa Ana is where I first started looking for house hacks and one this is for sure, it has a very strong rental market. This home was originally a 1 bed/1bath SFH and in 1980 the owners added another bedroom (165sf) and a guest home behind the garage (270sf). In 1991 they added an enclosed patio behind the 2nd bedroom (190sf) which has since been converted to a master bedroom without permits but done professionally.

I'm a fan of multiple exit plans, and this home seems to offer many! You could:

• live in the main house as 2bd and rent out the master bedroom and guest house
• live in the either the master bedroom or guest house and rent out the main home
• convert the garage
• test out STR (short term rental), while still producing steady rental income from other unit.

It just all depends on where you land on the Comfortability vs Profitability index.

- 2 Bed, 1 Bath + Jr.ADu + ADU | 1,319 sf + 190sf (unpermitted) | 5,220 sf lot

• 2 Car Garage (detached)

I would love to hear the community's feedback! Is this something you would like to see more of? Any concerns or insights are also helpful too, as I am always wanting to learn more 😊

*** Also, I do want to state that this home is a listing of mine***

`Hello everyone! I am constantly on the hunt for HH homes all over the LA/OC area and decided to start sharing interesting properties I come across here on Bigger Pockets. 

I am a Real Estate agent in the Los Angeles/Orange County area and I was involuntarily introduced to house-hacking by one of my first clients back in 2016. She opened my eyes to the power of house hacking and I have since sold her many homes since. I strongly believe it's one of best ways to start in real estate. 

About this home: 
I'm a huge fan of Lakewood.. apart from it being a really beautiful city, it is house hack central! A lot of the homes are originally either 2bd/1ba or 3bd/1ba with 2 car detached garages and over time, a lot of the owners have added additions to their homes  making it a lot easier to split up the floor-plan, such as a this home. 

I'm also a fan of multiple exit plans, and this home seems to offer many! You could:

• live in the main house as 2bd and rent out the master and additional family room
• live in the main house as 3bd and rent out either the master or additional family room
• live in the either the master bedroom or family room and rent out the main home
• turn the family room and master bedroom into a 1 bedroom apartment to minimize occupancy (approx 2,000-2,200/mo)
• convert the garage
• test out STR (short term rental), while still producing steady rental income from other unit.

It just all depends on where you land on the Comfortability vs Profitability index. 

Lakewood, CA House Hack -  3 Bed, 2 Bath | 1,762 sf | 5,456 sf lot

• 2 Car Garage (detached)
• Corner Lot

I would love to hear the community's feedback! Is this something you would like to see more of? Any concerns or insights are also helpful too, as I am always wanting to learn more 😊 

*** Also, I do want to state that this home is not a listing of mine***

Great deal! What were the renovation and loan costs/details? Interested to see what the gross/net profits were.