All Forum Posts by: Nikolas K.

Hi All,

We have tenants whose lease has transformed into a month to month lease after initially being a 6-month lease. We have a verbal agreement that they will go month to month while home shopping but convert back into a longer term lease in a few months. Of course this is well intentioned but a little ambiguous with our interests being on total opposite ends of the spectrum. 

I understand that in Seattle the landlord cannot terminate a month to month lease unless any of some 18 conditions are met. So I dont think that is an option... However we believe that we may submit new lease agreement to them, with 60 days notice, increasing the month-to-month rent and they will then have 30 days to decide.

- Does this sound accurate?

- Are there any gotchas / fine points to this plan?

- Can we submit a new lease agreement with different rates for long-term leasing and month-to-month leasing? I am thinking that a more expensive month-to-month rent would incentivize them to consider signing a longer-term lease while they home shop or what not. At the moment they are behaving rationally and opting to stay month-to-month -- I do not want to raise rents, they have been great, I just also do not want to be left holding the bag in the fall and summer since it is historically harder to rent the unit out then.

Thank you!

N

Hi Guys, who would I have to talk to if I wanted to add a "ramp" to the sidewalk by my driveway? So instead of a sharp corner from street to sidewalk, how can we as a ramp instead?

Hi All,

I was hoping to get a solid referral for a real estate tax professional in the Los Angeles area. We are seeking guidance in navigating our new tax/personal finance situation now that we are real estate investors with multiple/multi-category income streams. 

We welcome your referrals and thank you in advance!

Niko

Hi Paul, thanks for the info! Will do that and maybe report back here with my findings.

Hi Bob,

We have the same idea and just began foraying into the Los Angeles market for duplexes. So far I have run into three properties. I can tell you they are currently going from 600-750k. Need some work. In working-class family areas. Can rent from perhaps easily $1300/mo to bullishly $1700/mo depending on if you can get someone to pay for a 'nicer' unit in a drab area. 

As for if these would cashflow, you can do the math :)

Hope this helps!

Niko

I believe you are on the right track because 203k is a government program so your fha lender should be able to help you with that. 

Also you will need to submit some documentation about the work you intend to do and how much it will cost.

hth!

Hi All,

Fairly new to the game (but with a huge appetite for learning!). I have walked into a couple properties and two strong emotions come to me: i) just felt like there was no way I would live in those properties and ii) i had no idea how much it would cost to get it to a minimum level of 'inhabitable'.

My main question is: How can I quickly 'calibrate' myself to be able to reasonably estimate costs of home-improvement job(s)? 

Some info to narrow it down: 

• My initial idea is to watch Flipping shows and pay attention to the estimation segment
• Im beginning in the Los Angeles area looking for multi-family properties; live in one rent out the other(s)
• Not looking for luxury but also dont want to feel like im living in my grandma's place
• Maybe framing it from the dollar side would help (eg. $5k can do this, $10k can do that etc.)
• Priority list of what is important (in order, keeping it simple):
  • Kitchen 
    • countertop 
    • sink
    • cabinets
    • appliances
  • Bedroom
    • ample size (maybe moving a wall 
  • General
    
    • central air

Hi Guys! 

Newbie here and one of the recurring questions I have about LA real estate is: are there any common/typical issues that units have here in the LA area? (eg. structural due to seismic activity, piping due to local water, sewage due to design trends, paint due to the smog, roofing due to heat, electrical due to a/c etc.)

Motivation behind this question is for property-evaluating purposes. If for example a unit is on the market at a very competitive price then perhaps one of the first few things to check for are common 'big' problems that LA units may have.

Thanks!

Niko