All Forum Posts by: Nick Hedberg

@Antonio Lulli - I would love to bounce some ideas around. I'm an active investor and agent in the LA area. I work with a number of investors and am very familiar with the meetups in the LA area.

@Rodrigo Donoso - I would try Zillow, Trulia and Zillow and see which one you like the best. They should all have similar data and it comes down to your preference for the interface. They all have different additional data points that are provided that can add value to your analysis. Play around with each site and see which you prefer.

Also be careful when doing comps and make sure you get to know the area. Crossing a street or boundary can have a big difference in price points.

@Rodrigo Donoso - I would be very careful flipping in LA with $120k. The standard hard money down payment is 25%. Plus carrying costs, the actual rehab, etc. You are looking at some low price points in rough neighborhoods. You can find a place for under $250k along the 110 in South Los Angeles which might be a good area to start learning about. I'm not saying it can't be done, just be careful. Doing a live in flip would take much longer, but would be significantly less risky.

I've managed a property out of state and currently own a multi-family out of state and I agree there are definite downsides. I'm mainly focusing on the LA area now because their is still plenty of potential for investing in LA. You just need to know the market.

You have great energy and you are obviously doing a great job learning about REI. Keep at it and I have no doubt you will find the perfect niche for your goals. Let's chat next week and see if our schedules line up.

@Rodrigo Donoso - I'm an investor and an active agent just south of you in Venice. I have three recommendations for your situation:

First - "House" hacking in the West LA area. You could do a live in flip on a fixer upper and utilize the personal residence tax exclusion of $250k for an unmarried person and $500k for a married couple. Once I'm married my goal is to do live in flips every couple years. A $500k tax benefit is tough to ignore. I occasionally see condos that could be flipped in Santa Monica. For a SFR you would have to go much further inland but it can be done.

Second - Invest out of state. I've been hearing great things about Florida lately but do your own due diligence. My second real estate deal was an apartment complex out of state. You can buy an apartment building out of state for the costs of weekend parking in Santa Monica <sarcasm>. 

Third - Partner with more experienced investor to build your capital stack and knowledge. 

One of my favorite things about real estate is the options. There is an option for everyone to meet their goals, situation and lifestyle. Keep learning and hanging out on BP, and I'm sure you'll find the right type of investing for you.

@Allan Glass - I love the concept. An open vibrant office of like minded individuals can have incredible outcomes. Being able to roll  over to another professionals office to bounce around ideas and help each other's businesses can have fantastic synergistic outcomes.

Keep me in the loop. If it's in the West LA area I might be interested in popping in a couple days of week.

Like @Jay Dimacali mentioned I also follow Bruce Norris. He is currently spec building 6 homes in the Riverside area and doesn't see any impending major crash like 2008.

Markets are cyclical and I think we are due for a general recession and a housing market turn from a seller's market, to a buyer's market. However I don't see either being disastrous and barring unforeseen events (trade war with China, cold war round 2, terrorism, etc.) I'm guessing they will be relatively mild. We just aren't seeing the sale volume, loose lending requirements or volume of new home builds we have seen for other crashes to make it as severe as the last crash.

I'm actively looking for great deals in LA and wouldn't hesitate to purchase a deal now. I've talked to many investors who are much smarter then myself, and they are actively looking to purchase in this area. Since you haven't flipped yet, I would look for an experienced to work with. You can make a ton of money flipping in the LA market, you just need to know what you are doing.

Best of luck!

@Sam M.

Time of Event:  11:00AM
Location: The UnUrbanCafe, 3301 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90404
Fee to Attend: Free

@Sam M. - No problem. Every second Tuesday of the month. Hopefully you can make it next time. We had a great discussion yesterday.

I just finished Ignite and I think it's a great way to start your education as an agent. I had been buying/selling properties for years, read Millionaire Real Estate Agent twice, and still learned a significant amount from Ignite.

Ignite is a great way for a agent to kickstart their business if they are interested in building a residential business. If you just got your license to buy/sell your own properties, to wholesale or to do commercial, I would stay away from Ignite. 

@James You - It's @Jeff Greenberg that hosts the meeting. It's the second Saturday every month. Come out today and chat with us.

@Michael Quarles - You are a force of nature when you up there speaking, so I have no doubt they would love to have you back.