All Forum Posts by: Mark Schwab

 I had also wanted to mention the Corporate traveler rental option. I have seen short term options for two to four months tenancies. I have a sister who has been renting out their home like that for a few years now when they are on the road in their RV. For them it is all extra income, as their retirement income covers their other expenses. They seem to be getting a premium of 30-35% on the rental rate over a typical long term renter as near as I can tell. And the management company guarantees and covers any damages. So far she has not had any issues.

That reminds me of a local story I read a few years back where a guy who was a musician his whole life and never earned much more than about $40k had the good fortune/luck/insight to buy a small older home near Stanford University some 40 years prior.,He ended up selling for north of $3 mil, I believe,so giving him potentially more income in retirement then he ever made working.

There may be late filing penalties but that is better than having nothing- but in the future, you might want to tell your “subs” that you will 1099ing them and at least write them checks. I tell my subs who complain, “Dude-if I don’t 1099 you then I can’t claim the write off and then I’m paying your taxes”-they grumble but they get it.

well your strategy seems to be working well for you-(my daughter and son in law also kept their first home purchased in 2009 for 400k and rent it out for  positive cash flow-it’s worth $1.i now)-maybe not everyone’s cup of tea, but there is something to be said for simplifying your investments.

I am a contractor and all my work is by referral-the better the references, the better and smoother the job will go, and the more secure you will feel. I would never run off with someones money, would not be paid until they were satisfied, and I trust my former clients could attest to that! Good luck

Did you write checks to them or pay cash? are they licensed? If not, they may be considered your employees. Another potential problem, depending on how much you paid and what they did for you.

And this is somewhat anecdotal, but my daughter wanted to buy a move up house in a better neighborhood here two years ago.They had saved just enough to buy a home in Pleasanton  for $970k, which was the very top of their budget. Had they waited until now, that same house is over $1.25 mil-probably out of their budget. Which isn’t to say it won’t drop in value, but there aren’t any signs of that and then it’s a waiting game.  Also remember if you buy today, you lock in Prop 13 tax basis. If the value drops, you can always petition to have the tax reduced. As far as considering it an investment property, It’s kind of like comparing apples and oranges tho, since this will be your personal home in the place you want to live (I love Walnut Creek,btw). A few of my family members rent out their $1 million dollar plus home here with no problems-you just need a good property manger and good Tenant screening.

Well now that everyone has beat you up, I’ll give you my two cents-if living in the Bay Area is your first goal, and assuming you can’t do both buy a 40 unit apt building as well as a home in the Bay Area, I don’t have a big problem with your plan, assuming you have a reserve amount of money to handle any vancancies. I’ve lived in the SF Bay Area my whole life, and except for the once in a lifetime real estate bust (based on extremely easy credit, bad faith lenders, wild speculation,etc) I have seen normal corrections here of about 10%, historically. $1.5 million is what will buy you a nice upper middle income tract house here, and I don’t see a 30% correction coming in that market-there are simply too many people like that who want to live here. Is it possible? Sure, any thing is. But waiting for prices to come down or interest rate to stay low could quickly price you out of this market. All that said, this is an investing site, so most advice is skewed in that direction.  Long term appreciation, I vote “yes”- cash flow, “ no”