All Forum Posts by: Mimi H.

Hey Maria,

I'm also in Mountain View (I was in Vancovuer and apparently I have to wait a month before I can change my location on BP?). I'm going through something similar, although, I don't own here (but thinking of it). Would love to catch up IRL if you're up for it!

@Dennis Weber et al... would love an education on note companies, I know nothing of it and I'm wondering if I'm missing out... and 11+% for so many folks on here, well done. I have a lot to learn, that's for sure.

@Damon Bodine yep - I'd gotten mine off market. Sellers saved a boatload on agents' fees and I got a great deal as well. Mortgage was a bear due to initial owner occupancy. Now that owner occupancy has gone up considerably, that building as well as the surrounding area has appreciated nicely as well.

@Lesley Resnick I agree $4k on $800k does not equal cash flow. I never said that it did, I merely said that as a corollary of what properties go for in that area are (if you were to buy in today). The folks who are holding getting $4k on the 2 bed may not have bought in at $800k. Actually from what I've heard it's much worse than that. Anyway, ff they have bought as an investment vs a place to live, good luck to them and glad I'm not one of them.

As for rent control, that's not how rent control works in NYC. As an example, no rent control in my particular unit, but there is rent control on a very similar unit in the same building. Rent control in NYC is not a "blanket" thing meaning just because someone buys into NYC it does not mean that that unit is subject to rent control. Now if you were in Vancouver, BC it _is_ a blanket thing. 

NYC has both rent control and rent stabilization, they are quite different. There are even particular laws around very specific buildings. It's not the easiest market to navigate, for sure. And yes, very strong tenant laws. Not as strong as San Francisco though.

I would _not_ recommend NYC as a market for those who are uninitiated, meaning, if you've never lived there, don't have an affinity for the place for whatever reason, hate NYers (no, seriously, people don't take this into account, NYC is not for everyone), and can make better numbers elsewhere, obviously invest where you're comfortable. I was lucky to get into that market at the right time and even if it stops appreciating _completely_, I'm cash flowing and have been from day 1. 

One other thing, if you are a large scale investor and you're losing money, you'll just lose it at a larger scale.

I can't speak of the FL market since I know absolutely nothing about it. Zilch! :) 

I love @Leslie Pappas' 5 Ts! that's totally the realistic unglamorous side of REI. If you don't want to do that (at least at the start, before you have a team together) then it'll be significantly lower margins.

@Corey Woodruff even if you don't have kids, just imagine what a super rad retirement you'd have, and I bet there are some great causes that would put that money to good use... :)

@Corey Woodruff you have the @ symbol and then start typing the person's name, then a little pop up should umm, pop up. :) stick your mouse over it and select and you should be good to go! :)

@Sean Tracey yup - that's exactly what I was referring to...I'm kind of cracking up re: the "math beyond me" comment. I have a freaking engineering degree and I swear the rules for that stuff is written with such financial legalese that it's set to deter everyone except for the handful who have sat down and are now bald from the process. I'm sure I'll get to that state in the next few months (studying for my Enrolled Agent's exam! :) ).

@Andrew Dillard depending on the age of the building, you may want to look into the state of the roof, heating units, aka some of the more expensive "gut" repair. I've seen a lot of deals which look great when the numbers are run only to find out that there is a lot of "postponed" maintenance. Smaller investors seem to misestimate costs of larger maintenance items and then have to unload properties due to lack of funds. It puts the buyers in a better negotiating position as long as you have the funds to do the repairs.

Thanks for sharing @Ann Bellamy and @Jon Nelson! I still remember the time I'd sold my place in PDX and proudly told my mother who looked at me in horror and said, and I quote,"why the hell did you do THAT? We're Chinese! We don't sell!". I don't know if that's really a Chinese thing because to be honest, she uses that phrase for pretty much everything... :)