All Forum Posts by: Hannah Jones

Hi, Jennifer,

Did you find a good CPA in Santa Cruz? If so, would you be willing to share your contact. I own investment properties out of state, and I also have a small business. 

Thanks so much!

Hannah

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Winthrop.

Purchase price: $189,000

Three-season camp on Cobbosseeconte in WInthrop, Maine.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

David Marshall, my realtor, was instrumental in helping me find a camp that could work as an Airbnb. He offers the perfect combination of vision, strategy, and practicality, and I especially appreciated his data-driven approach to helping me make an emotional decision.

Hi Mikhail,

Not sure if you're still looking for properties, but I am preparing to list my Yuba City duplex early next year, and I would love to share the details with you if you're interested. The house has been a fantastic investment, and both sides have stable, longterm (and wonderful!) tenants who work at Beale. The only reason we're selling is that I want to buy a property in Maine near my mom, who is getting older. 

Please let me know if you're interested.

Best,

Hannah

Hi, everybody! I live in Santa Cruz and have just bought a duplex in Yuba City. I would love to come to the next Meetup. What's it called so I can sign up? Thanks!

Thanks, everybody, for the warm welcome!

Joe, we're planning on managing it ourselves, at least at first, because there are two stable tenants who plan to stay. Once we start having to deal with vacancies, we may have to switch strategies. 

I agree that Santa Cruz is crazy hot right now. But then I look at Silicon Valley and think there's lots more room for growth. 

Thanks so much for everybody's help!

Hello,

I am under contract to buy a duplex in Yuba City, CA, for $200K. At first I was really excited about the deal because most stuff I look at doesn't even begin to pencil out. A couple of investor friends gave me the thumbs up. But the more math I do, the more nervous I get.

It is currently rented out for $800 per unit. Owner pays garbage and water, which is $110 per month (total). My realtor told me that the units could rent for $50-100 more each, but there are two great tenants in the duplex, and neither one has any intention of moving out, sot I am loathe to increase the rent too much.

The duplex has new water heaters, central AC, and heat. There is minor wear and tear, but not much. It was built in the 80s and it's in a low B or high C neighborhood. The bad news is that it needs a roof this year. But when that's done, it should be relatively maintenance free.

I live 3 hours away, but I plan to manage it myself.

So, it obviously fails the 2 percent rule and the 1 percent rule, and with the 50 percent rule, I end up about $10 ahead of game on a 30 year mortgage. When I do more fine-grained analysis, it seems better. But is this just a dumb deal? If so, why is my realtor telling me it's amazing?

I have been a homeowner for years, but I'm just getting into real estate investing in California. We live in Santa Cruz and are about to buy a duplex in Yuba City, after tons of research, and I'm hoping it's the first of many investments. My goal is to buy and hold one or two duplexes per year. My husband and I are planning to retire in about 15 years, so that's my time horizon. Thanks in advance to the Bigger Pockets community for all your support in this endeavor!