All Forum Posts by: Orion Walker

@Bill Takacs, welcome aboard. be sure the check out the podcast if you haven't yet, and keyword alerts are helpful for keeping up on areas/subjects of interest. 

There are some knowledgeable experienced folks on here from the Santa Rosa/North bay area. I'm up 101 a bit in Ukiah.

Cheers

Hi @Ryan Zweng, 

I started out with a triplex, converted a detached garage, so now that's a 4plex. Has been cashflowing well. So far it has been quite easy to manage. Knock on wood. 

I've considered going out of state, but so far I've decided to build up my experience locally as long as I can find deals that make sense. I figure I won't get the same levels of cashflow that I might out of state, but I like knowing my area and being able to check up on my places on a regular basis, and I figure that being in the wine country not too far from San Francisco there's a good chance appreciation will work in my favor. 

Cheers

Hi @Dawn Aotani, welcome aboard. I'm about 2 hours north on the 101. My brothers have always lived/worked around Marin. Lots of great little areas. I've met a bunch of great bay area folks via BP and been learning a ton. I too have been learning the ropes as a landlord in the last few years. So far so good. 

Cheers

@Account Closed, welcome aboard. I'm up the road a bit in Ukiah. I look forward to hearing how things go. I think you are starting with the right focus in the sense that if you are successful finding some good deals the rest will probably fall into place pretty easily. I need to take that advise for myself a bit more and get more active on digging up amazing deals. 

Cheers.

@J. Martin, I'm still pushing for including Mendo/Lake in the Greater Bay Area, the "Northern North Bay" as I call it. But otherwise your geography works for me :)

Hi Folks,

This is my first marketplace post, so please be forgiving :)

I'm looking for partner or financing options to close this deal. We have an accepted offer at 435k, and a few days left to secure funding. We were clear in our offer that we would need 5 days to show a viable purchase path. 

This is a beautiful 2700 sqft old home on a huge lot in one of the nicest areas of Ukiah, CA. 2 hours north of SF. Projected rental income including small back unit would be $3300/mnth. ARV would be about 600k. I know these aren't very impressive numbers, but given the unique qualities of this property I'm confident it will have a lot of upside as a buy and hold or it could work as a flip.

We have 40k towards a down payment. Probably need another 40-50k to secure loan or hard money. We either need a partner who can help us qualify for a loan, or a lender who can help us put together a cash option. 

My wife and I have excellent credit (750 range), steady W2 employment, and a few other properties under our belt.

Please PM me if you have ideas/suggestions/interest.

Thanks!

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1020-W-Perkins-S...

Sorry @Ruben Parra for highjacking your post a bit, but I do think this discussion of the northern north bay is relevant to the in-state versus out of state question and I'm enjoying the conversation. Thanks @Brian Burke for dropping some knowledge. I like that idea doing smaller deals locally and going out of state for something compelling. 

Some folks that might find this conversation interesting:

@Nick Fitzpatrick, @Aaron Hall, @Mick Harvey, @Jesse Gonzalez, @Russell Ponce, @Andrew Fingado, @Roger Kanbar  , @Stefanie Marshall  , @David McCready , @Carol Venolia , @Rosendo Gonzales, @Kelly Krezek 

A fair bit of what I would have said has been covered by @Martin Scherer and @Jay Hinrichs, but I'll add some thoughts:

One of the things I love about this area is the diversity of micro markets. Out on the coast we have breathtakingly beautiful coastline, some of which is multi million dollar estate ville, but other areas are still pretty affordable. We just bought a 2 house property 5 minutes outside of Fort Bragg, 5 minutes to a nice beach, on a beautiful acre, in a nice neighborhood for 200k (needs about 60k of work). Should be in the 1% range. Our 4plex that we bought in Fort Bragg in 2012 is closer to 1.5% range. 

Inland in Ukiah you have the 101 corridor and the majority of the jobs. New housing has been very limited due to zoning, ag, costs, limited non-mountainous space... Rental market is very strong. Hard to find 1% deals around Ukiah these days, but some happen. 

What the inland lacks in ocean vistas it gains in vineyards and boutique winery areas. Anderson Valley, Hopland, Southern Lake county... Some of these areas are slowly but surely looking more and more like Healdsburg, Sonoma, Calistoga...

Over in Lake County you have some surprisingly cheap areas, especially when you consider the views of the lake and Mt. Konocti. People have been predicting the turning of some of the run down areas for a long long time, but I can't help but think that between the views, the boating/fishing, the wineries, and the retirement age boom, we are going to see increasing demand and repositioning opportunities moving forward. 

Looking at the larger picture and speaking to @Account Closeds question, in addition to demand from retirees, I think we will continue to see an increase of folks who work remotely, enjoy the quality of life attributes and cheaper prices, and like that they can swing down to the bay as needed. From the investor side I know there are folks who like that they can access cheaper markets within an easy day trip, and get in a little wine tasting or what not as well. 

Okay, I could go on, but will try to avoid turning this into a book. I'm not trying to say there aren't challenges in this area, there certainly are, but I'll leave that for another post. 

@Brian Burke, maybe you would care to jump in on this conversation? I know you've got plenty of experience and perspective on this region.

Can't wait to jump in on this conversation, but need to focus on the day job here for a bit. 

Hi @Colleen Hendrickson, welcome aboard. I like how you jumped in both introducing yourself and with an interesting question. I used to work for Big Brothers Big Sisters in SF and then another social service agency here in Ukiah. You are doing great work for people, but it so undervalued and underpaid in our society that it can get frustrating. I've decided that REI can be wealth and freedom building strategy that will allow me to dedicate my time where I choose without worrying as much about how to pay the bills each month.

So far I've just done rehab and hold, but I'm looking to do some flips as well. I really enjoy the process of taking an old run down place and turning it into something great. 

I'm based a couple hours north of San Francisco where the barrier to entry is a lot lower. We just closed on a two house property on a beautiful acre 5 minutes from a nice beach for 200k! Getting started on the rehab now.

Anyhow, good luck with your next steps. Lots of great networking opportunities in the greater bay area. Lots of active folks here on BP to connect with.

Cheers.