All Forum Posts by: Marcus Marsall

Hi All

Looking to add new streams of revenue on a property we own in San Leandro. This was our first property, and unfortunately when we bought this property we were unaware that our mortgage statement would be subject to change as much as it did ($1200 increase) due to property value and negative escrow, now leaving this property well in the red month to month. Long term I do see this property being a great asset so we don't want to sell necessarily. Our hope is to find ways to increase cashflow with this property short term and reduce our bleeding, and also consider the cost associated to implement.

The property is 2 units fully occupied. 1 tenant already rents out our garage for an extra cost, the other tenants are left with no additional storage outside their unit. We have a "side yard" exposed to the street that is about 1500 sq/ft and not being utilized (currently there is a large mulberry tree that would need to be removed). This space is located on a "somewhat" busy street, a good amount of commuters drive by daily getting to the highway. I feel like there has to be something we can do, like adding mini storage units for both our tenant and outside customers to rent. I haven't been able to find any vendors offering something that might work for something like this. 

I guess I'm posting several questions for the community. Not all need to be answered but any help/insights or advice would be appreciated. First, any ideas to add cashflow to a property with minimal investment? Or use of a 1500 sq/ft outdoor space located on a busy street? Another area of knowledge we would greatly value is general guidance on how we are looking at this problem, and if we are approaching this the right way. This has definitely put a strain on our monthly spending, and feel a bit stuck atm and we really don't want to stop adding to our other investments bc this property makes us lose cash month to month. Long term the plan is this property is a key piece of our retirement, wondering if we can do better.

Thanks and open to sharing more information if it will help with anyones feedback!
Marcus

@Gordon Cuffe, @Osazee Edebiri and @Chad Kastel for your insights here. Incredibly helpful and thankful for this community! I have a vision of the path i need to take

@Matt K. at one point in the post I indicate I'd prefer close to my current city, Sonoma. But honestly I wanted to keep this open. 

I probably wouldn't be driving up to Eureka anytime soon. But, if theres a reason why it would be a good investment... Who am I to not at least hear the argument. I'm from the Bay Area, and mostly interested ithose surrounding areas, up to the Sacramento area and then wine country for the most part. But again, I like to learn new things so hoping some others find this post to contribute!

@Darius Ogloza I agree, I too see some challenges with BRRRR in todays market. I wouldn't be too upset in having to put a tiny bit of my own money down to make things work.. My goal is to add 1 property to our protfolio each year, until we are in a position to multiply this; so I think this is doable :)

Thanks for sharing @Katelyn Seaton! I'll be looking into this group. @Brandon Rabe this goes in line with your comment as well so I think this makes the most sense of where to start. 

Hello everyone,

I am a real estate investor based in Northern California, and I'm seeking advice and mentorship on employing the BRRRR investment strategy in Northern CA. I have some experience in real estate investing, having purchased a duplex in the Bay Area as a house hack... now we have invested in a property in Sonoma that we currently occupy. Life has moved fast and I now have two kids which has lead to my wife and I looking to pivot with our original FHA/house hacking plan.

We've purchased our properties over the last 18 months with little money down. I don't see anything we can leverage with our current properties, and our remaining cash is for reserves. I'm now looking to learn how to purchase properties using hard money or seller financing, and I'm wondering what needs to be in place to make that happen. I'm also curious about which specific cities in Northern California are good for BRRRR investing, and where I should focus my research. I've heard both sides of the coin regarding BRRRR in Northern CA and really just looking to network, discuss and really just take our first couple of steps towards action. I'm looking to figure out ways to make this work close to home (wine country).

Would love to hear any insights from the community. I'm hoping this post gets decent traction. I love my state, and really want ot stay close to home. Of course, if there are others out there reading this, please feel free to interact with your thoughts and expereinces. If you have experience with BRRRR investing, especially in Northern California; any connections/references for those who can be considered for the BRRRR team; or even you yourself being interested in talking regarding these goals... Please let me know!

Hey BP

I don’t write too often but thought I’d look to the community to brainstorm ideas considering the strategy I’d planned to what the current market tells us now.

My wife and I bought our first duplex last August (Northern CA). Our original plan was to house hack with MFH's using a FHA loan for low cost entry into higher equity plays.

Given our current rates, and chance for those to go even higher.. my wife and I are left accepting it would most like be more beneficial to stay in our current FHA loan. So now we're left with the decision to stay in our current duplex. With our second child due end of June, space is getting tight.

My goal here is to figure out all our options and discover details to make an informed decision. We want to stay close to family in CA. Close to six figures we planned for our next 2 FHA's, and saving for future investments.

Any thoughts of questions here would be appreciated!!

Hello BP

My wife and I are in the process of buying our first investment property... in fact just had our offer accepted in San Leandro (duplex). We are using the FHA loan so we can repeat this process and let our money run further... whether those future investments are in the Bay or anywhere else in CA really.

My question is.. are we crazy buying in the Bay considering we are house hacking with a FHA? Feel like it may take time to get to cash flow considering any duplex in the bay usually goes max for the FHA limits. How can a beginning investor consider all the factors that might limit our velocity in this venture... or overall success? Is this market too expensive for this strategy? Or long term is it still worth it? Needing to hear another voice of reason before we talk ourselves in/out of this deal.

@Rob Bergeron any neighborhoods you absolutely would not buy? SFH and/or MF?

@Carl Mathis this is why you should work for yourself