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All Forum Posts by: Mike Lopez

Mike Lopez has started 4 posts and replied 10 times.

Post: Mortgage Brokers Recommendation in Los Angeles

Mike LopezPosted
  • New to Real Estate
  • Los Angeles, Ca
  • Posts 11
  • Votes 3

Hi everyone!

Are there any mortgage brokers that you would recommend in the Los Angeles area? I have started reaching out to banks and let's say, they are not the most helpful.

I have finished paying off all my debt and I want to start the pre-approval process so I can narrow down my searches. If it's helpful, I am a first-time buyer looking at purchasing a multi-family, house-hack, financed through an FHA loan.

Thank you

Post: Running The Number - as a newbie

Mike LopezPosted
  • New to Real Estate
  • Los Angeles, Ca
  • Posts 11
  • Votes 3

@Andy Eakes

I've been using the RENTAL calculator tool since I am planning to house hack and don't want to take on a full renovation just yet.

Thanks for the tip. I'll start rounding up my expenses and be more conservative.

Thanks and Good luck!

Post: Running The Number - as a newbie

Mike LopezPosted
  • New to Real Estate
  • Los Angeles, Ca
  • Posts 11
  • Votes 3
Originally posted by @Matthew Mazur:

Mike,

I am based in Los Angeles - I do not work on / invest in residential assets, but I know from clients that you need to be really cautious with your assumptions, especially during COVID because there is an eviction moratorium in place. I do not know how many tenants you will have in your house hack project, but run multiple scenarios and make sure you can cover the carry-cost in the event you have (a) tenant(s) that goes into default, but that you cannot evict. Hopefully, good screening and management will help you avoid this scenario, but understand the numbers and legal restraints ahead of time! 

I'd do some research and consult with an attorney to figure out how long this could go on, but assume 6-9 months then factor in time and cost to release. If you float that comfortably, then you are all good, you'll make your money back on your exit. If that would make things a little too tight, then price that risk in.

Happy investing!

Thanks for the advice Matthew! I'll start running multiple scenarios, I've currently been running one (yikes). 

A lot of books do recommend getting an attorney on your team. I'm planning to reach out to several once I get all my finances in order. 

Post: Running The Number - as a newbie

Mike LopezPosted
  • New to Real Estate
  • Los Angeles, Ca
  • Posts 11
  • Votes 3
Originally posted by @Joshua Krilov:

Hey Mike! Can you share an example?

Hi Joshua,

Yeah, no problem. I'll message you an example. 

Post: Running The Number - as a newbie

Mike LopezPosted
  • New to Real Estate
  • Los Angeles, Ca
  • Posts 11
  • Votes 3

Hi Everyone!

I'm starting to run the numbers in my area as practice before my first purchase (house hack).

I know LA is an expensive market and does not tend to cash flow. However, about 1/3 of the houses that I have analyzed would cash flow and I'm kinda eager to jump on this opportunity.

I want to proceed with caution because this is the first time I use the calculators. So I'm sure I'm missing something. Any assistance or guidance would be appreciated.

Thank you (and good luck on your own REI journey)

Post: Newbie in Los Angeles

Mike LopezPosted
  • New to Real Estate
  • Los Angeles, Ca
  • Posts 11
  • Votes 3

Hi Carina and welcome!

I too work in the entertainment industry (Assistant/Junior Editor).

Seems like we have similar goals. I'm pursuing a househack for my first purchase/investment and later I'll look into out-of-state investing for cash flow. I'm currently reading "The House Hacking Strategy" (highly recommend)

Good luck on your journey!

Post: House Hacking Tips in Los Angeles

Mike LopezPosted
  • New to Real Estate
  • Los Angeles, Ca
  • Posts 11
  • Votes 3

@Wan-Yi Sweeting

Out of those areas, I would rank EL SERENO the lowest. But it's nothing compared to 20 years ago. It's a lot safer now and it's close to a university.

I do agree that classifying an area as "ghetto" is very relative. I spent most of my life in EAST LA/ BOYLE HIGHTS, which 30 years ago was rough but now development is starting to happen.

Im also looking at house hacking. I've been driving to the neighborhoods to get a feel for them. Asking the locals is also very helpful.

Post: Newbie from Los Angeles, California

Mike LopezPosted
  • New to Real Estate
  • Los Angeles, Ca
  • Posts 11
  • Votes 3
Originally posted by @Jon Schwartz:
Originally posted by @Mike Lopez:

Hello everyone!

I'm Mike, a newbie from LA. Currently I work in the entertainment industry for a advertising agency, cutting trailers, tv spots and other sorts of content for movie, tv shows, etc. Sound fun right? watch movies for work. It was at first but I quickly found myself putting in a lot of hours to move up (to an editor position) and I'm burning out.

I found BP after a youtube binge and was instantly hooked. I signed up for the 90 Day Challenge seminar, loved it. Signed up for BP Pro that day and jumped in head first. That was a month ago and in that time I have read HOW TO INVEST IN REAL ESTATE, HOW TO INVEST IN REAL ESTATE WITH NO MONEY DOWN, THE BOOK ON RENTAL PROPERTY INVESTING. I might add I have not read a book in the last 4 years since i graduated from college so I don't know how this person is.

My current goal is to purchase a property in LA that I can house-hack. I'm meeting with a friend this weekend who is actually a realtor to get all my questions answered. After that, Im hoping to invest out of state where cashflow is actually possible. Apartment complexes look interesting, but I think I'll stick to multifamily/BRRRR units.

If you read this far, you are my MVP (Real Estate Rookie reference :P)

Thank you and good luck on your journey!

Michael,

Welcome to the nerdy, obsessive world of BP!

Fellow LA investor and editor here. I edit movies and TV, mostly streaming stuff for Netflix now. I started in advertising at a commercial house in Santa Monica, but I fled when I was about your age and became an apprentice editor in the Union. I suffered the burnout, pushed through, worked my way up, and now invest to slowly transition out. I enjoy the work, but I have a 2yo daughter now, so if I can spend less time at my bay, I will!

Congrats on getting up and running like a boss! I have one more book recommendation for you:

https://www.amazon.com/Every-E...

This book is all about the numbers -- but I promise it's digestible. It's important to have your head wrapped about the numbers, especially in LA where a lot more wealth is built in equity/appreciation than in cashflow.

It's great that you're meeting with an agent friend, though I must ask: if your friend an investor? You're going to get a much different, perhaps not-so-helpful viewpoint from an agent who just sells houses to retail clients.

Best,

Jon

 Hi Jon,

Thanks for the book recommendation!!, I'll definitely check it out.

And I'm not quite sure, I know the company he works for is rather big and works in a lot of aspects of real estate. I'm still learning as much as I can so I'm using this as a learning experience. Ill definitely do my due diligence before picking a realtor to work with for my first purchase. 

Post: Newbie from Los Angeles, California

Mike LopezPosted
  • New to Real Estate
  • Los Angeles, Ca
  • Posts 11
  • Votes 3

Hello everyone!

I'm Mike, a newbie from LA. Currently I work in the entertainment industry for a advertising agency, cutting trailers, tv spots and other sorts of content for movie, tv shows, etc. Sound fun right? watch movies for work. It was at first but I quickly found myself putting in a lot of hours to move up (to an editor position) and I'm burning out.

I found BP after a youtube binge and was instantly hooked. I signed up for the 90 Day Challenge seminar, loved it. Signed up for BP Pro that day and jumped in head first. That was a month ago and in that time I have read HOW TO INVEST IN REAL ESTATE, HOW TO INVEST IN REAL ESTATE WITH NO MONEY DOWN, THE BOOK ON RENTAL PROPERTY INVESTING. I might add I have not read a book in the last 4 years since i graduated from college so I don't know how this person is.

My current goal is to purchase a property in LA that I can house-hack. I'm meeting with a friend this weekend who is actually a realtor to get all my questions answered. After that, Im hoping to invest out of state where cashflow is actually possible. Apartment complexes look interesting, but I think I'll stick to multifamily/BRRRR units.

If you read this far, you are my MVP (Real Estate Rookie reference :P)

Thank you and good luck on your journey!

Post: Newbie to Bigger Pocket Podcast

Mike LopezPosted
  • New to Real Estate
  • Los Angeles, Ca
  • Posts 11
  • Votes 3

Hi everyone,

At the time of this post, the Bigger Pockets podcast has 396 episodes.

As some one who is very new to BP, are there certain episodes (top 5) that I should listen to first? I'll eventually binge-listen to them all but if there are any suggestions I would appreciate it.

Thank you!