All Forum Posts by: Rami Aweti

Hi BiggerPocket users,

I'm looking for an investor-friendly agent/broker in Salem, OR.

My wife and I live and invest in the bay area and are looking for someone to help us navigate the housing market in Salem. We are interested in single/multi-family properties and possibly relocating there some point in the future!

Thank you!

Rami

Thanks guys! I'll do a tax comparison @Michael Delpier It looks like property taxes are equally terrible in both locations. Oakland actually has a fairly liberal tax valuation. It's the crazy fees they tack on to your property bill that gets out of control. Mosquito abatement, extra police force, library, etc, etc., its nuts! @Michael Jones I do appreciate your advice. I still have my eyes on Portland :)

Thanks @James Dishongh! I do appreciate you humoring me a bit. The upside for Oakland is population density/ongoing need for housing and access to a stronger economy. I imagine that Portland is limited in how much it can grow due to future development that can level home prices and the lack of a strong economy. Portland is surrounded by land. What is to say developers can't just build homes to accommodate future growth and tamper home prices. I see homes that are close in as retaining value, but I don't see a San Francisco type of situation where homes are landlocked, creating upward pressure in prices. How close am I on this one? 

Hello Everyone,

Would you rather have a home in Oakland or TWO homes in Portland?

Please explain and feel free to ask clarifying questions.

Thank you!

Thanks @Gordon Cuffe I have considered Sacramento and reviewed that option. Outside of the immediate Bay Area and Sacramento, do you see good potential in other areas of Northern California?

@Joe Bertolino Do you see upside in these zip codes? I see good potential in the North Oak park area :)

Assuming access to credit was not a factor, how and where would you invest 100K in northern California? 

This list can include cities from Oakland to Sacramento...

Hello BP Members,

I would appreciate if anyone could send my way an agent that is experienced with the Sacramento market! 

Rami

@Jared Vidales That makes total sense. Multi-families do seem to give more control over the NOI over the long-term. I'm not in a position to buy more than a duplex at this moment (and properties with a price point that offer me the opportunity to buy more than 2 units seem to come with a host of other challenges). Nonetheless, I can how a duplex immediately lowers the risk without having to gamble on appreciation.

@Brian Burke Thanks for the tip. I'm not sure we settled my original question. lol. But, I do have more peace of mind in knowing it could be a toss up. Choosing the property carefully seems to be the best bet! You mentioned that your not overall convinced which has gone up in value more. Is this based on more recent investments? I would imagine that if you bought in the last few years you would have witnessed a nice pop in prices in both areas that would make it hard to distinguish. But, I am wondering over the long-term (as in forward thinking)? For example, I can see nice homes in Vallejo today going from 200K to 400K based on proximity to higher priced regions in the bay area and the underlying value of land. On the other hand, its hard to see a similar scenario happening in Sacramento. I can see a developer building a new homes with equal or greater square footage and charging less as prices move up. Please correct me if I am wrong.

@Jake Weir Thanks for offering to help! I'd love to connect with you about some neighborhoods. I'll inbox you in a minute. Your logic makes total sense. A purchase at today's prices would certainly give me a competitive edge of over developers in terms of rent. They may be a threat to my sale price but over the long-term I do have the competitive edge in rents with this low entry point. Thanks for pointing that out!

This community is awesome!

Hello Everyone,

I've been looking at rental properties in Vallejo and Sacramento for over 6 months now and can't make a decision. Where do you think makes the most sense for the long-term?

In Vallejo, I can get a small single family home that would pay for itself and maybe cash flow a bit. In Sacramento, cash flow seems more likely as I can get more home for my money (and possibly a duplex). Vallejo seems better positioned to catch appreciation with its close proximity to the Bay Area market. I am cautious about Sacramento because I know the underlying land is not that expensive and any property I purchase is susceptible to being undercut by developers. This is my dilemna. I would love some clarity!