All Forum Posts by: Robert Marston

I think this is a great time to pick up a multi-family property in the East Bay, this market is shifting pretty rapidly and properties are sitting on the market much longer than that last 5 years which gives buyers leverage that we are not used to seeing, and while rates are still relatively low. My buyers are getting closing cost concessions and picking up properties under the original listed prices in the last 60 days. Rates are on the rise, and my personal opinion is they will not be going down in the near future so a refi may not yield you a lower rate in the future but the drop of MI plus less $ financed may bring the payment down and increase the cash flow, time (and your business plan) will tell.

With 0 other considerations, if the seller is on board it sounds like you will be able to live in the East Bay for approx $1,600 a month and that in itself is a pretty great deal. Is the duplex currently vacant or are there Tenants involved? Have you satisfied all of the requirements of the 203k? Are you seeking a Streamlined or Standard? 

California- San Francisco Bay Area here and 3% is the "norm" for EMD in this market.

In addition to doing slow drives through unfamiliar neighborhoods at night, I would suggest you and your wife familiarize yourself with the local landlord and tenant laws! Oakland has been described as a complicated area to be a landlord in so you may benefit from the head start!

https://www.tobenerlaw.com/category/oakland/ & http://rapwp.oaklandnet.com/

Congrats on the plunge! Link up with a great local lender that can knock multi-family loans outta the park and be diligent in your search! 

@J. Martin - Nothing I see online I take personal =) You are correct in everything you said, First month and security deposit is the way it should be. Pets generally come with an additional deposit. 

When I am looking at room share on Craigslist and Facebook the majority of those posts state they want three sets of monies - First/Last/Security. I was more just trying to drive home that he should not be paying that much. I am not a rental expert so only wanted to ensure he knew that three sets was no good. I am glad you are able to come in and clean up my post and provide great value! Thanks! 

Renting in the bay is tough. You are correct in that once you have identified a neighborhood and you see a rental listing come on you need to run there immediately with credit reports and money. It is my understanding that you will pay first/last but not an additional security on top of that unless you have a pet. So, you should not be paying first/last and security, if you are asked to def do your research! If you are renting a room from an individual they may not know this!

$1,200 a month for a room in a home is doable, I highly doubt you are going to find your own place at that price point in Oakland though, especially if neighborhood quality is of concern. 

Lake Merrit is fun, they have all sorts of events there and you can find people from all over the world there on any given weekend. There is also a great abundance of food options around Lake Merritt and the Temescal neighborhood, so much diversity, it's really nice being so close! Oh, and if you are a beer guy then do we have you covered out here. Oakland has so many craft beer locations now it's hard to keep track of them all! 

Rent control exists, so you would want to plan your purchase knowing that and come into it educated. Start with some reading here: http://rapwp.oaklandnet.com/

Craigslist and Facebook are used widely here for rentals. Search some facebook groups, keywords like "Bay Area Housing" will get you some results that you can start to watch for pricing trends for neighborhoods!

Knowing where you wanna live is gonna help so much here, the bay area is hecka big! You can cash flow in Oakland, Richmond, San Leandro and Hayward, however, most of these are not gonna be "A" neighborhoods that have Starbuck, Philz and a CVS on the corner. These properties on the average will need some love and work from you to shine again and you will need to come into the deal with a sizable amount of cash down or have some liquid assets to force some of that appreciation!

House Hacking will prob not make your cost of living $0 in the Bay but you can get ~70% of your living costs covered thus giving you the cash to either pay the property down quicker, have some financial freedoms or whatever!

I currently see 14 MFR properties for sale in Oakland that at current rents (Which are all below market) and with proper holds in place are generating >4% cap rates, even a couple 5%'s in there too. (I am not counting any costs that you'd have to bring for rehab though).

Get an idea of what you can afford given your current situation. IF you have the cash to perform then getting a house hacking deal may be a great gig for ya as you'll be building equity either quicker than normal or with less of your own capital. (Rates are low now too!) If you do not have the funds then now may not be the best time and Renting and saving up will be the way to go! 

Hey I should be in town for this one! I was bummed I missed the last few Oakland meet ups to last minute stuff and things. Thanks for continuing to put these together, super juiced to see you all in a couple weeks!!

Hey,@Philippe Dela Cruz  I'm an agent out here in the East Bay- been at this for about 4 years now. If you wanna hook up sometime I'd be happy to give you some details about my day to day actions and how I fell into some networks I'm a part of! 

Bigger Pockets has a ton of really great information that you can keep in your back pocket for wowing sellers when you are at a listing presentation and even more so for working with and attracting new investor business!

Howdy!

Check out the new ADU rules for Alameda County on the following link, the vast majority of your questions regarding zoning will be answered there plus a lot more great information! Make sure to pay extra attention to the "Links and Resources" section, the links "ADU Handout" and "Current Alameda County ADU Regulations" will be great resources for you in this project!

https://www.acgov.org/cda/planning/landuseprojects...

AirBnB technically would be a no-go, the loosening of regulations and zoning for ADUs was done to help the housing shorting we are experiencing in the Bay Area and not for short term rentals, just FYI to you!(Not trying to sound sassy either, straight up FYI!)

Construction costs in the Bay Area are very high currently and the ADU rules state manufactured housing is allowed-I'm thinking that may be the cheaper option in this current market unless you know some contractors!

If you have the stomach for some hard work and forcing appreciation then there are plenty of opportunities in East Oakland and into the East sides of San Leandro/San Lorenzo and Hayward(Outside of Castro Valley School District). These properties will all probably need some elbow work but the $$ is there. There is a LOT of focus on Oakland right now and for good reason (Super hot market!) but with that, I'm noticing a lot of my clients are getting similar properties with 2-3 offers to fight with outside of Oakland rather than 6+ on the Oakland properties. Property taxes, Point of Sale requirements and closing costs in Oakland are higher than the neighboring cities (On average).Come take a gander at the Multi-Family homes in San Leandro and Hayward sometime! =)