All Forum Posts by: Petra Ibrahim

It was nice to finally meet you in person @Account Closed Next time I'm hoping we'll be further away from the speaker :p

@Jaren Barnes

@Dee Cross

It was nice meeting both of you! I'm looking forward to the next meetup.

@J. Martin Thanks for the tag! Count me in this time. I also found a buddy who's interested in going. She's a real estate agent. I'm trying to get her to see the flip side and maybe even join BP :)

@Franklin Romine

@Greg P.

For some reason my last post didn't seem to link to you two. Hopefully this one does.

@Frank R.

Thank you for posting. I sent you a colleague request.

@Greg P.

It's not the most desirable area, but it is located in the town district (that's what I meant by more desirable, than say southeast Fresno).

I've seen the property and it looks a lot nicer than the other places I visited, plus it's near a bunch of shops yet is on a lot that has good privacy. It's also within my price range.

@Elizabeth Colegrove

Thank you for the post. Yes, it is a lower income market overall, however I've checked the market value rents in the area and they seem to be on level with the property I'm looking at. Plus, since they are long term tenants that eases my mind (although I am going to verify that by looking over the lease agreements).

I also took into consideration that the area is an appreciating area as well. So even though it wouldn't be ideal cash flow (someone on here has mentioned they look for $100 per door), I could always sell it at a later date once it appreciates.

Thanks again for the input! It helps to see things from other perspectives.

Hello,

I'm a new member of BP and have finally come to a crossroads of actually getting my first property. I've read some books and feel like I have a good grasp of what to look for. I recently put in an offer for seller selling a duplex and house (on the same lot) in Fresno. Both of the 1/1 apartments rent for $550 and the house rents for $850.

It's in one of the more desirable submarkets (so I shouldn't have a problem with vacancy in the future), plus there a long term tenants in place. The selling price was initially $199,000, but I knew that was outrageously high and the seller came near to my asking price $183,000 (I originally offered $180,000).

The address is 745 E La Sierra Dr, Fresno, CA 93728. Using the 50% rule I'd get cash flow of $153. The cap rate is at 7.33. I know these numbers aren't very high, however it is in California and I've heard that generally the cap rates are lower. Also, the seller listed management under expenses, and I won't be using a property manager so that should lower the expenses.

The value on Zillow seems to indicate that it is valued much higher, although I know that Zillow can be off. Also, it looks like the seller bought the property in 2004 for $11,000.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, especially from anyone familiar with the central valley. I knew I should consult BP before I made the final jump. Thank you in advance for taking time to give me advice.

@J. Martin I'm going to try to make it. I need to find a babysitter for that day or see if my daycare provider would be willing to watch him for a few evening hours. I'll let you know if/when I find someone. Once my son hits age two he's going to KidsPark! Great rates and they're open until 10pm. Only a few months to go!

@Mike D'Arrigo I'm sorry I didn't get back to you yesterday. I work Thursday-Sunday and am part time so my manager changes my shift sometimes. Thank you for the website link. I'll keep updated with that.

@Elizabeth Colegrove You have a great plan. I was actually thinking of investing in Fairfield since Travis AFB is there. I moved around quite a bit when I was in the military, however I know many of my co workers were stationed at bases for years at a time. The people I knew also took very good care of their rentals.

I've been looking at Fresno for the past month and it's beginning to seem like the best deals for cash flow are in less desirable areas. I'm not too sure I want the tradeoff. I may be stopping by next week to take a look at a couple of potential investments. If I do, I'll let you know and take you up on that offer.

Oh, and I saw your goals. Since I haven't bought any properties yet, 12 properties in 3 years that seems so difficult. However, the more I lurk on this forum, the more it seems it's possible. It's a great aspiration. I think I'm going to have to increase my goal, too. The first one just seems to take the longest it seems.

@J. Martin I guess I'll find out more about the area if I get a chance to go next week. Maybe I'll bring some armor haha.

Thank you for the appreciation. It was great serving. I got to travel the world and go to exotic places like Ohio and Texas. Just kidding, but really, I did get to go to Germany. It was hard work, but one of best decisions I've ever made.

I look forward to going to one of the meetings and seeing you and @Account Closed

@Elizabeth Colegrove Sounds like we have the same investment strategy :) I'd love to hear any insight you might have on the area (lower crime zipcodes, low vacancy rate areas, etc). Also, do you recommend any agent? I'm in contact with someone, but he seems very busy and typically takes a couple of days to get back to me. So your husband is Navy? I haven't been to Lemoore, but I do know that travelling comes with the military territory. It seems like you're taking advantage of that too, which is great!

@Account Closed Thank you so much for your kind words. Serving has been an honor and an experience I would never trade for anything. I will definitely take you up on that offer to pick your brain. It's very nice of you to offer me a helping hand. Coffee sounds great too, I'd just need to brush up more on the basics so your advice can really sink in.

@Greg P. Thank you for the post. Do you plan on investing in Fresno or are you planning on investing elsewhere? I'm sure you know the ins and outs of the area very well. I'll shoot you a message to get more of the meetup details. It seems like it's congruent to my investment plans too, so I'm looking forward to it.

@Omi C. Ha, it sounds like you're on the fast track to accomplishing your plans. I'd love to hear back from you after you've made your first investment. We can be the newbies together.

@Mike D'Arrigo I'd love to hear more about when and where the group meets up. Thank you for the best wishes. I've got to start somewhere, and I think this community is a great resource for building a strong foundation.

@Dmitriy Fomichenko I got your email today. Thank you for adding me. I'll keep a lookout for any updates!

@Paul Timmins Thank you for the wealth of info. Omi mentioned the podcasts as well, they seem to be a hit. I'll look for the books you mentioned on my next trip to the bookstore.

@Brandon Turner Thank you! I feel very welcomed.

@J. Martin I've never been to Bakersfield, but supposedly it's also a great spot for cash flow investing. Ha, I hope you're kidding about Fresno otherwise I'm going to start over-thinking things (but seriously, if it's a bad idea, maybe I need to run in the other direction). The meetup sounds great, and I'm sure I can learn a lot from seasoned Ca investors such as yourself. Thank you for letting me know.