All Forum Posts by: Ratesh D.

@Jay Hinrichs You seem pretty bullish on Richmond as well as Richmond Point. Do you see these areas improving similar to the East Palo Alto gentrification (granted the EPA location is great). Better to go Single Family? It's interesting that SF homes can be had ~$400K in Richmond.

Thanks Marcy. I took a quick glance at the new places in Gilroy/Morgan Hill and they are about the same price as San Jose/EPA around $800K which sounds way over priced to me! Granted, they are new but the location is not comparable IMO. 

Like @Robert Rayford said, it's an Apple's to Oranges comparison. 

If you want some cashflow, then Las Vegas is much better with it's affordability metrics and you can spread your risk across multiple properties. In San Jose you would need to put down ~50% for the same. 

Appreciation wise, there is a lot of land to build on in Las Vegas which would slow/limit appreciation rates. 

In San Jose, land is limited, plus you are in the epicenter of the tech industry with it's numerous catalysts that bring more high paying jobs to the area. 

It's a trade off...some steady money now or potential for big money later. I'd bet on San Jose. 

Btw, when did your sister buy her place because there ain't much here for $350K :) Also unless she put very little down, at that price (inc rehab) she should at least be at break even. Feel free to PM me directly if that's better.

Appreciate the replies. Even with a 10-15% deductible, why is that not worth it for the high priced bay area homes? Assuming the building value (not including land) of at least 500K, I would think the damage from a major quake would far exceed 50-75K (thinking about what a 2.5 bath and kitchen remodel costs)

@Jonathan Pflueger Pre 1989 is most of the valley and most homes built since then have improved structures designed to flex so I would imagine those are safer bets. 

@Rachel Bier Wow you've seen some action and glad the fires didn't get to your rental. Double checking  your annual earthquake insurance is $651/year? Sounds very cheap. Could you share who it is with?

@Jim G. If I understand correctly, umbrella doesn't cover earthquake damage, correct? I like the multi zip code idea. How far apart are you spread? Top marks for buying when you did :)

@Arlen Chou Did you do the bolting after purchase? If so what kind of cost does this entail?

Thanks for sharing Pavan. 37 units for ~$2.2m is ~very low at $60K/door. Was this in Sacramento? Did it need much work? Could you share the rent, cashflow numbers for analysis? Did bidders know there was seller financing available? 

Hi All,

Are you taking out earthquake insurance on your investments in the Bay Area whether for SFH or Multi? I know a lot of folks who see this as a waste of money or a unlikely event, but give the huge financial investment required to own property in this area how do you think about your downside protection for an event that could set you back years? Is it better to invest in new properties that have a better chance of withstanding a quake?

Thanks. 

Hi All,

Happy new year! I'm new to Bay Area real estate investment and have been looking at a few up and coming areas for SFH to either rent to hold or flip. East Palo Alto has gone up a lot given the huge reduction in crime and proximity to Facebook etc. San Jose looks set to benefit from Google's plans to expand there. Redwood City is doing well too. Newark is expanding as a cheaper gateway to the peninsula. SFH are generally in a price range of $700k-$1m which whilst crazy, are much more affordable with reasonable commute times than other parts of the area.

Appreciate community thoughts on how best to compare these or other areas for investment and strategies/experiences that folks have had. 

Thanks!