All Forum Posts by: Robert Reynolds

Sorry to hear the seller backed out. The LA market is very competitive right now, and we've seen that it's been a struggle that the seller can't find a replacement property. Be patient, and I believe that everything happens for a reason. Have you thought about house-hacking, and finding a larger single-family home that you can rent by the room? That will open the door to a lot more possibilities and possible houses that may work for you. I don't know what your budget is, but in LA it's tough finding anything right now in the $700k price point that isn't a town home or condo. Those could work great as house-hacks though and let you build up some equity during this time of high inflation. Also you can look at surrounding cities if you don't mind the commute. 

If you are set on a duplex, I've been lucky enough to find some double vacant units, but as you know it's very rare. Just stay ready and pounce on the next one that hit's the market. Make sure to factor in the rehab costs. Most the duplexes my clients have got, have needed a decent amount of rehab costs, which may have been better used to buyer a more expensive home. Wish you the best and always here to answer any questions and provide value whenever possible.  

I highly recommend house hacking as your first step if you don't have a primary residence. This way you can utilize programs like an FHA loan where you can only put down 3.5%, and get the best rates. Government back loans give you a slightly lower rate than conventional loans. Also, just keep learning. Read everything you can get your hands on, Set for Life by Scott Trench, is a great book to start with. Feel free to reach out if you ever need any advice.

Title Should have read: 

First Time Home Buying with High Rates and Low Supply

Unfortunately it’s beginning to look more and more that higher interest rates aren’t going to push prices down. Being part of a high volume real estate team, we’ve seen first hand that the demand in Los Angeles and other major cities is just too high right now. Even with some buyers backing out of the buying process because of affordability, there’s just no new homes being built, so that supply is still way lower than the demand for new housing. 

My advice to first time home buyers is to look into low down payment programs like the FHA loan, buy a little outside your major city (where it's more affordable) and house-hack your first home. When I was younger, and bought my first home, I had two friends move in, pay under market rent to rent by the room and they paid most my mortgage for me. It allowed me to save up, and by my next house; which was in the area my wife and I wanted to live. A little sacrifice early on really paid off.

If you have any questions about the home buying process or today’s market please reach out and I’d love to provide value to you. 

My grandmother passed and left two vacant lots in her estate. Each lot is almost 1/2 an acre in Victorville, near a school, in a residential neighborhood. We can either sell each lot for about $50k, or develop each lot and sell for about $400k. I'm a licensed real estate agent in SoCal looking to get a few investment properties in the near future. Think this might be a great chance to start. 

My architect is submitting our plans for my ADU I'm adding to my house next week. Anyone have an idea of how long it takes the city of Los Angeles for the plans to get approved and you can start construction. I'm adding an attached 2 story 2 bed/1.5 bath unit to my house approximately 750 sq ft.

I live in Los Angeles and am looking at building a 2 bed 1.5 bath two story 800sq ft ADU on my property. I've priced out the project and it seems to cost around $110,000 for everything. However if I hire an architect/engineer ($7,500), get permits ($8,000) and hire a contractor ($150,000-$165,000) the price comes in closer to $165,000-$180,000. Is it really 30%-40% cheaper to manage the construction project by myself? Any suggestions or books or podcasts you recommend before starting the project? My expected rent is $2,500-$3,000.

I currently own a home in Los Angeles and would like to purchase my first investment property but would have to go out of state to do so, because Los Angeles seems to expensive. I was looking in Texas and other states where you could buy a house for about $150k, and rent out for less than $1,500. My buddy recently introduced me to the idea of turning my garage into an asset by converting it to an ADU. I could convert my garage for about 60k to a studio that would rent for about $1,200, or tear down my garage and build a two story 2 bed/1 bath rental that could rent for $2,500-$3,000 for about $150,000. To pay for this I would take out a HELOC loan, just quoted at 3.5% for up to 200k. Would appreciate any comments and advice.

Currently have a 30 year fixed at 3.875%, thinking of refinancing to 30 year fixed at 3.0% to save me money now. Would save $300 a month. Side question is would you invest that $300 a month in index funds or paying down the principle?

@Sean McDonnell please send me some properties to look at. Looking to purchase between 100k-200k single family or duplex

Looking to buy a single family or small multi family income property in Cleveland, OH or the surrounding area. I live in Los Angeles and am looking for a local expert. I currently own a home but have never purchased an investment property. Any advice will be appreciated.