All Forum Posts by: Manch Hon

@Account Closed I am still hanging onto my W2 job for now. Will keep this in my back pocket. You are right. No-doc definitely beats stated income. 

@Account Closed East West Bank does stated income loans? Or is it commercial?

@Amit M. I am not very plugged in to the multi scene, I think @Account Closed is much better informed than me. I doubt there are any 4-plexes selling for below 1M along the 101 corridor. Minh told me about one near Hwy 85 in the Almaden Valley but that one quickly went pending. 

Most stuff I saw are 1.5 and up. 

@Amit M. Yeah, EPA is a bad example because it is a separate town all by itself. Things would be extremely different if it were part of PA, albeit the ghetto part. All along E of 101 I am most bullish on North Sunnyvale and maybe Santa Clara. They still feel well connected to the rest of town. 

The reality is that people keep pouring in because of we have all the great jobs. It's not just tech. Just yesterday Virgin America filed for IPO and only then I knew they were based in Burlingame. Our bench is much deeper than I thought. I feel these rougher bits of towns have no choice but gentrify. North Sunnyvale is actually closer to most jobs than the south, even though schools in the north are atrocious. But that's why there is still value to be found. 

@Amit M. Seeing you write about Bayview just have something click in me. I am also looking at East PA and North Sunnyvale. My strategy can be summed up as "East of 101". Anything on the east side of 101, up from Bayview in SF, to east side of San Mateo, Palo Alto down to north Sunnyvale are still much cheaper than the west side of 101. 

I am still kicking myself for passing a great deal in north Sunnyvale back in December.... 

@Amit M. Sure. Will do. :) But I need to generate some cash first so I can afford to be a passive investor. Focused on flipping for now. 

$500-700 per month negative cash flow is a bit beyond my comfort level. I am all for betting on appreciation though, just make sure you play a good defense game and never, ever be forced to sell. 

@Amit M. @J. Martin Yes. I think by carefully picking the locations, unit mix and price range we can mitigate the "life long tenant" situation. At least for now I like the "spill over" markets better. My tenant in West O commute to SF everyday and he works in tech. Daly City is also on my radar. It's almost SF but without the hostility towards landlord. Appreciation though is nowhere as good as SF....

@Amit M. How do you steer clear of rent control issues? By targeting a higher price range? I don't particularly mind the price control aspect of rent control. But the idea of having a "protected" tenant that I have to keep renting to against my will scare the bejesus out of me.

Yeah, Sunnyvale has gone up like nuts in the last year or two. Now I tell people Santa Clara is the new Sunnyvale. :)

The trend of going back to the city is pretty interesting too. SF is becoming hip again and everybody talks about "walkability". I never quite get the allure of walking around with heavy grocery but that must be my age talking. :)