All Forum Posts by: Ricardo Paredes

It really depends on the market and what's expected. I've seen new construction on the Central Coast in California and flips here in LA County at pricepoints well over $500k with "luxury vinyl" in common areas including the kitchen. 

What type of ROI or net mortgage were you targeting? Were you looking north of the 10? Phillips ranch? There are newer 4bed homes under $500k and maybe even under $450k to be if you're comfortable living in the more blue collar parts of the city as well as some larger historic homes that could be easily be converted into 4 or 5 bedroom houses if you're comfortable buying a home that needs some renovation.

@Patrick Fraire

@Ray Ngo My wife and I recently bought a 5 bedroom house in Pomona with the intention of house hacking. Pomona is one of the few decent areas in LA County where you could conceivably house hack your way into a monthly housing payment of less than $500/month buying off the MLS. The house had been on the market for several months and the price was recently reduced. We ended up getting it $15k below asking with 5% down and will have a smaller mortgage payment and larger yard than we did living in Southbay. Rooms rent for $600-$650 and there should be no shortage of potential renters with 3 colleges and metro station nearby.

@Garrett Vita, I'd recommend Javier Montiel  with Coldwell Banker. Personable, but more importantly professional and a tireless worker. 

Hello BP, I recently read about Los Angeles relaxing the requirements for additional dwelling units on lots zoned for single residences to comply with SB 1069. I have a detached garage and if the cost of permitting and converting it to a studio is not outrageous it has the potential to be a lucrative rental unit. Has anyone undertaken a permitted garage conversion since SB 1069 took effect? If so, how difficult was the process and were you satisfied with your contractor?

Anssi,

You could try using filters on redfin or zillow to search for mls listed foreclosures. I checked and found 2 on Alhambra using this method. Contacting a realtor and asking for their input may give you a bigger (better) sample size to work with. My wife and I lived in Alhambra for some time and spent a year trying to find a deal for a fix and flip on MLS. The market in SGV is very competititve and will often include cash buyers for fairly priced properties on the MLS. Distressed properties are rare on the MLS and if there are distressed properties they will likely sell at very close to full retail price.

Which highschool Johny? BHS? South HS? North HS? 

You'll find 2 bedroom houses for around $50-$60k east of 99, but they're in rougher neighborhoods and even then there is sometimes competition. You may also want to look around a smaller bank or mortgage broker who is willing to finance SFR investment properties with a lower down payment. I found a mortgage broker who was willing to do 15% down. PM me if you'd like additional info.

@nicolejones My wife and I scoured the MLS for a duplex or 2 houses on 1 lot for about a year. 2 on 1's are hard to find west of the 605 with the exception of some of the areas south of downtown and north of the 105. You can find homes with nice mother-in law set ups, but the addition will generally be unpermitted or the sales price reflects the added rent potential. Prices in most of LA county are high enough that if you're coming in with 20-25% down the rental income from the 2nd unit is barely going to cover the mortgage. Again this was just using the MLS and our agent, perhaps with the BP network you can find a better deal.

Fresno native here. Prices in Fresno for all but the most undesirable neighborhoods are getting too high to cash flow for sfr's but there are still  smaller apartment complexes in B and C neighborhoods  that may work for you. 

Have you considered Bakersfield? Lower prices and similar rental market to Fresno with higher yields east of 99.

I would avoid vegas unless you had airbnb in mind.