All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

@Colin L. : Thanks so much for that info. I'm happy they are busy and glad to know that the sticker shock and unavailability issues is not just a run of bad luck. I hope to learn the ins and outs of how to do this more quickly and efficiently in CA and maybe my next rehab won't involve any wall moving! Or maybe I should forget the home rehabs and go into home building? 😉

If anyone has any people they can recommend that will show up, give estimate, and work, I'd love your help! I need a good contractor, plumber, electrician, drafter, stucco repair, garage door sales/install, and a flooring company that sells engineered wood chevron pattern. I found a place that had this last item in the OC, but surprise! they never called back with a quote and I cannot get a hold of them. Oy! 

Thank you again so much. Everyone's input has been very helpful and I appreciate you all taking the time to explain how things operate around here to the newbie Californian. For people that work fairly quickly, do you just have an established reliable crew already? How do you get things done so quickly with everyone being so busy? 

-M 

@Justin R. : Thank you so much! Can I PM you as well for a drafter recommendation/contact? 1-2k sounds much better for the scope of the work I want done. It's very straightforward stuff structurally; the costly part will be all of the windows and doors and labor to put up a new wall with no crazy 45 degree angles and odd turns. Contractors and architects hmm and haw about exposed trusses and beams - they are faux trusses and beams just there for decoration. Nothing to worry about but they are talking about wanting to put in headers. In a room with vaulted ceilings? 😕 

I'm used to closing on the property, then having contractors draw up any necessary plans for permits from the city and walking out with permits the day after closing so we can get to work. I'm finding that there are a lot more steps, and, oddly, I'm also finding that I'll get people out here for an estimate, and they'll take the time to come out, walk the property, and then tell me that they are too swamped to do the work. Why not tell me when I called? And everyone is so slow to return calls if they returns calls at all! Is San Diego this laid back or am I just having a rough go of things? I would be long done by now but I can't seem to get answers or bids or anyone to start work. I never pay by the hour or pay 100% upfront - I pay as work is completed and in full when work passes inspection and is complete. I'm new here and don't have my go-to crews and don't feel comfortable paying everything upfront. 

@David Ferrette: Thank you. I was feeling uneasy. I've never done a cosmetic fixer with so many cooks in the kitchen and have yet to work with an architect in a home. I appreciate you letting me know what to expect. I was feeling some red flags with wanting to draw things up without my input. What if I don't like it? Now I've paid for their services and have plans that I don't want to use! 

@Chad Conrad : I know the committees you are speaking about and thankfully I'm not in that area! I purposefully didn't buy there because I have heard nightmare stories from people trying to improve their homes in the covenant of RSF.   I am not the type of person to cut corners or sneak around, so I'm a bit weary to take advice to just forget going through the proper channels. But again what I'm doing is not an addition or is anything that people will even see. It's on the back end of my house which  is completely private and none of my neighbors can event see my house from their homes or from the street. So some of it is silly. 

With so many contractors doing work without pulling permits, doesn't that affect the value of the work? Just curious on that one. If work has been done without pulling permits where I'm from, it is a big deal and affects the value of your improvements. 

At this point, I'd just love to renovate one room. Any room! But I'm finding it hard to locate people that are available to do the work. Everyone seems busy. Is this the norm right now? 

@David Ferrette : Hi, thanks for your reply. I should have added that the property is in an unincorporated area of San Diego county. I did speak with a county inspector and he does want plans but was pretty chill about it all and vague about who draws them up. I'm also in an HOA and all of the neighbors basically say "don't ask permission, better to just do it and ask for forgiveness later." I guess there's a committee that is headed by a power hungry (non resident) employee of the community and people avoid him. But I'm worried that if I ask, it will cost me, and if I don't, I run the risk of fines from HOA even if I do what the county requests. But the status quo is to not ask, I guess...in the CC&Rs it says we have to ask for every exterior change except annual flowers! And there are fees with every request ranging from 150$ for requesting to paint the house to 20k for regrading an area of your property, so asking can get pretty expensive. And slow. They review requests just one day a month.

I have had two architects out to the property, and we discuss generally what I want to do, and they send me a proposal from 7-10k for the drawings, and just say "if you're okay with the quote, let me know and I'll get started." But we didn't talk about the details, like where the pantry will be and how far the kitchen will extend, etc. How can they draw plans without knowing what I want? So I ask and they just say "give me the original plans and 10k and we'll go from there" but that seems like a gamble. For example, how do I get a permit without plans for interior work? I don't want to pay 10k without having everything included. Is 10k a lot for plans? Plus contractors say stuff like "how do you feel about pulling permits?" People don't generally pull permits for interior changes? Everything seems...shady! Or is this just how CA is?

It's kind of crazy so far. 

Thanks again, 

Mary

I have a home that has vaulted ceilings. The exterior wall bumps in at weird angles, but the ceiling continues in a straight line outdoors, if that makes any sense. So I want to extend the back of the house to the load bearing posts that sit outside and knock down the weird angled current exterior walls, Ceiling and flooring stay the same. 

For something like this, I've been told I need an architect to draw plans. I've also been told that, no, a drafter will do. I've also heard that people just use software and draw the plans themselves. 

Are all of these options okay in CA? Or no? Where would you start on a project like this in this state? In my old state, we could draw up plans on a napkin and send them in, get our permits. It wasn't as particular. 

Thank you! 

-Mary 

Hi all,

Thanks in advance for reading. Hoping to get some info on ideas for getting money out of my primary residence so that I can improve it.

I purchased the house for $1.75M. I put 20% down at time of purchase. The house was worth around $2.0 at time of purchase. It's been about 2 years, now it's worth about $2.2 in today's market. Since the purchase, I've also paid down about 50k on the mortgage. So I owe about $1.35. With the right improvements, which might run me around 200k, the home would be worth close to $3M in this market. 

The lot is fabulous, and the home is solid. It just needs a lot of cosmetic help. I purchased the home with the intent to improve it. the only problem was that I put all of my $ into purchasing the home and didn't have any left for improvements, so I will need a loan to do most of the work on the home. 

Nothing here sells for less than about $2M today, and those homes are smaller with inferior lots (and outdated as well). 

To qualify for a home equity loan, what will they be looking for to qualify me? Loan To Value. My credit score. Debt to income ratio. The last one might be an issue as I have loans on other investment properties. And my husband tells me that banks typically don't I count rental income when considering my income, which is unfortunate for my situation. Is this true? 

Anything else they will consider when trying to get a home equity loan? 

If I cannot get a home equity loan, what other options might I have? I'm tired of living in a fixer-upper and I'd also like to finish the house and put it on the market sooner than later. Hard money lending scares me a bit, so I probably wouldn't want to go that route, either. 

Thank you, 

Mary 

@Dan H. : Thanks so much for all of the rental news in MB. It's good to have insider info. Much appreciated. I would prefer to get something right on the beach. The one I looked at today had some water views but a large telephone pole and wires right off the balcony in the middle of the views! The realtor said they'd be getting rid of those and the goal was to be underground with wires by 2080?! Something really far off. I don't want to wait that long! Ha. 

I can see how some areas could get pretty rowdy. I saw countless signs advertising vacation rentals and vacation rental management. 

Interesting that your rentals fetched more as a LT rental than a vacation rental during the school season. Obviously, families with kids have school and can't travel, but I wonder if the older people head back to AZ and Palm Springs, etc as it's not as hot during the winter months in those areas (just going off of what people told me today about having mostly AZ renters). 

I tend to get longer short term rentals during the winter months, if that makes any sense. People staying a couple weeks vs a few days. I bought before Little Italy was as popular as it is now and would have lulls in bookings in the winter, but now people want to be in that specific area! Just luck...

Thanks again! 

-M 

@Dan H. : Wow! Mud wrestling and MB Ghetto fights! Good to know! 

I actually just spent the morning down there. I checked out the bay side and the Pacific side and would like something right on the Boardwalk. The number of vacation rentals was really high! I feel like Mission Beach is the spot for what I want to do because I am not paying as much as I would further north, and because it is a rowdy area, the California Coastal Commission seems to be okay letting the vacation rentals stay. In places like Solana Beach, where it is more quiet, ST rentals have been severely restricted because of noise complaints, etc. 

I looked at a place near Belmont Park today. I will have to get a sitter and go see what the situation is on the weekends. That's a good idea. 

So vacation rentals in mission beach die down during the school year? The guy I talked to today said the majority of their renters were from AZ so I assumed they were older people. I have one downtown in Little Italy and its booked year round but we get people from all over and a lot of professionals as renters. 

Thanks for all of the useful info! Do you mainly get a young crowd of renters or is it a mix? I don't rent to anyone under age 25 at my other vacation rental and things have gone well, no crazy events or complaints from neighbors. I wonder if I can't get away with that in Mission Beach? 

@Derek W.: Thanks for the info! Yes, I saw some kind of hotel/condo building that looked fairly new and doesn't seem to be doing well in that area. So it made me wonder if there's not a lot of demand or if it's just poorly run. Good to know about the local property managers. That would make things easier. But, yes, it seems risky! 

I appreciate everyone taking the time to help me out. Thank you so much! 

-Mary 

@Aristotle Kumpis : Hi! I have not been to Belize in a long time! I was thinking something close to me since I'm not too far from the U.S./Mexico border. Thanks for the suggestion! If I change my tune I'll for sure send you a message for more info. 

@Dan H.: Hi, neighbor! I've been looking locally, and in Nevada and Arizona and then thought, hmm, Mexico? Just due to proximity.  But have some concerns about it - similar to the ones you brought up. And yes, I do not think you can own beachfront property but instead get a lease on the land instead in Baja (not sure about the rest of Mexico). It's always a bit daunting to think of investing out of the country as it is a whole different ballgame.

I know people used to vacation south of Tijuana - like in Rosarito Beach - but I dont know if that's still going on or not. 

I did not know that about Belize. It sounds great, but would be quite a ways away, like you said. 

I guess I'll just keep looking. And looking...I'm thinking of Mission Beach here in San Diego. Not finding anything worth jumping on though - yet! 

Thanks very much for taking the time to give me valuable information! Much appreciated! 

-Mary 

Hello, Fellow San Diegans! 

Was looking around for a beach vacation rental and see a lot that are priced nicely south of the border in places like Rosarito Beach, La Paz or Cabo San Lucas. 

Have any of you purchased any property in Mexico, or looked into it? Pros? Cons? Areas to avoid? Good areas to invest? 

Would appreciate hearing of your experiences. 

Thanks for reading! 

-Mary 

Good topic. I have much to say about this, as I'm having this conversation regularly in my house. 

My spouse (who also grew up quite poor) bills a certain amount per hour, and he has enough work to be billing 24/7 if he wanted/could. The way he sees time is: if I can outsource doing ____ for less than I charge per hour, it doesn't make sense for me to do it, as I will be losing money.

I can understand how hiring a gardener at 100$/hr makes sense to do if you get paid 500$/hr and gardening would take many hours from your week to accomplish and you hate gardening. Totally get that. 

However, watching him live this concept out has made me realize that there is a huge flaw in this reasoning.  In a vacuum it makes sense, but in real life it's insane. Basically because it means every minute has a price tag on it.  Does that mean we never spend time on anything that makes less than us/is free/costs us money?  Do we hire a dog walker and skip our daily walks with Fido because that walk is costing us jointly over a thousand dollars for that hour? Where does it end? 

I chose fixing up ugly proerties as my job because I truly enjoy many aspects of the process. So I don't think I'd be happiest just finding deals and not having any part of the transformation of the home. Would I be wealthier? Perhaps. Happier? Probably not. 

If you manage to do okay in this business or any business, you will find yourself faced with these very questions. And the answers aren't very clear. You might gain or lose money outsourcing, but how does shouldering the burden of something you dislike so much or letting go of something you really love cost you- not just financially, but personally? 

I know my response is way more philosophical than your question. But my advice is to not forget the prize - freedom to live a full life. Do what you love. If you can outsource stuff you dread, do it and don't feel guilty about it.  Make time for friends and family. Indulge in a hobby. Tile the bathroom if that's what you really like to do! For some it's a tedious task. For me, it's time to just listen to music, clear my head, and create something nice. 

Because the sky is the limit in this business, it's easy to get carried away. You will hear a lot of people who are never happy and just want more and more and more. Reality? Money is a lot of fun. Getting that first big paycheck is exhilarating.  And when you buy that thing you've always wanted and can't believe you can afford it finally, it's really an awesome feeling. Then you know what happens? You get used to that lifestyle. It's your new norm. You move to a place where your Mercedes Benz is now parked in a row of Rolls Royces. The toys lose their charm. The game never ends.