All Forum Posts by: O'brian R.

I have been working with William Robison for a bit over a year now and have aquired a couple SFRs in that time. My expierence has been very positive and I wouldn't have been able to invest there had I not been working with someone like him. Message me and I'd be happy to talk further. 

Surprisingly, even many of the high priced Westwood apts are still dumpy buildings from the 60s as well! 

Congrats on your daughter getting into UCLA! My old stomping grounds where I spent my undergrad days. I actually lived in Westwood for my first 3 years and then rented a place in Santa Monica my senior year. The rents were high and everyone I knew lived with roommates...often even sharing rooms. If I remember correctly, back in 2004 time frame our large 2 br/2ba on Kelton was nearly 2400 for 4 people. At $600/month, it really wasn't bad. Coming from a tiny dorm where 2 people shared one little room, 4 people sharing an entire apt seemed fine. With a 15 min walk down Bruin walk to campus, I absolutely loved the proximity that I didn't even keep a car during those times! Even back then the annual parking passes were outrageous that I can only imagine what they're charging now.

A couple of others have mentioned already, but if you're looking for property in decent areas, it's worth looking into Culver City and Palms. There are some nice parts and they aren't very far and the SM big blue bus runs through there too. As for cheap, Van Nuys is a good suggestion that's not too far as @Matt R. mentioned. 

@Greg Gibbons 

You don't have to be a first time home buyer to qualify for an FHA loan. However, I believe in most cases you can only hold 1 FHA loan at a time. This is why I wrote earlier that one would have to refinance out of their original FHA loan first (after living there for a year) before going out to get another FHA loan in which you'd have to move into the 2nd property and stay there for a year as well.

While there may be a way to keep your existing FHA loan and get a 2nd FHA loans, you'd have to make a convincing case to get that approved. That being said, the FHA was primarily established to support home buyers acquire a primary residence, not for investors to purchase rentals. So taking advantage of the FHA program with multiple FHA loans as an investor probably won't fly.

@Amber KoontzAgreed. I love the forums and all that you can learn here. I learn something new every time I visit. 

Great job on your first marketing campaign! That voicemail had me cracking up! 

That 6% response rate seems pretty good from what I've heard by others. You mentioned you bought the list from Jerry, but can you share what search criteria (i.e. absentee owners, minimum % equity, etc.) you used to make such a targeted campaign? 

I'm estimating about the same monthly cash flow, give or take different estimates for maintenance and vacancy. Wouldn't be worth it to me to have such a low CoC return. The 7% CoC is looking better, but that may be assuming an overly optimistic rent to be received after the rehab.

Welcome Lito from another local investor also in LA. Lot of great resources that you'l find here. Check out the podcasts and the Learn tab at the top for more education. 

I agree with what @Phil Hongsaid earlier about not getting too bogged down with setting up entities, let alone entities established in other states and owned by another entity that operates in different state all while you live in CA...makes my head hurt. I think as a newbie looking to get started, the real key is to focus on taking immediate action and continue moving forward even if you haven't found the ultimate structure to hold your real estate. 

With that being said, I will mention a couple accountants you can work with here in the area. 

Keystone CPA (where Amanda Han works) comes out to the local FIBI groups here in Manhattan Beach from time to time. I haven't worked with them personally, but they always have great information that they share. 

My accountant is local here and runs a smaller shop and deals directly with his clients. He owns several real estate properties in CA and out of state. My own landlord where I live actually recommended him to me when I was getting started. Send me a PM if you're interested. 

Count me in!

@Jon Huber, I'm interested as well. Is there a forum location where the monthly meetup info is posted?