All Forum Posts by: Salvador Marin

@Michiko Gladman

My wife and I are the same. I work in the Utilities and Telecom industry and learning the contracting side of things. My wife does online work (she is Japanese too). We don’t want to be where the sharks are and we don’t want to borrow too much. So we are going old school so to speak. We are going to build our own capital in our respective business fields and then invest.

We moved from CA to MO and we love it here. Great real estate market but like I said, lots of money in the market right now. Nice single family homes don’t last more than a week here. Duplexes and triplexes are found in undesirable or “less than desirable” areas and have inflated prices. There is a lot of development but that’s a long haul investment.

@Michiko Gladman

I am not interested in CA real estate right now. I wouldn’t be a good resource.

Prices are rising all over CA because of the big money from places like New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. It was that way in 2008 and it’s that way now. This time however that cash is also going to second tier cities. Prices have become inflated in Kansas City, MO and I know some money has moved to Memphis though I don’t know if it’s too hot there.

Where you go for your investments should depend on your plan. If you want “buy and hold” and you don’t live in CA I’d recommend to be very, very careful. As Tanner Massey put it, margins are razor thin in CA. The strategies there are to hold at a loss and sell within 3-5 years or earlier in the hope of a ridiculous appreciation. (Think 200% plus) To play that game you’d be competing with millions of dollars per competitor.

@Michiko Gladman

I don’t know enough about Chicago to compare well. However, the gangs that used to dominate “la frontera” (the border) have weakened considerably. Barrio Logan, when I visited the area again in 2015, had cleaned up a lot. My old neighborhood in Chula Vista was being remodeled by someone, and it looked nice. A revitalization is happening but it is slow. The area is still comprised of people that primarily speak Spanish, some receive government benefits but want to improve their lives. They will slowly move out as prices (and quality) rises but I imagine this area will still have a strong connection to Tijuana just across the border. If I lived in the area I think I would be able to find a few deals here and there. So I am not saying this place is bad. I simply wanted to let you know a bit of the history of the area. After all, these might be your business partners or tenants if you decide to invest in this area.

@Michiko Gladman

National City, Barrio Logan, and Chula Vista are left over grounds from the gangs in the 90’s. I recommend looking into any issues of back taxes or structural issues before doing anything there. Chula Vista is very nice once you get to the east of the 805 but also very expensive.

I grew up in-between Chula Vista and Barrio Logan back in the early 90’s. My parents had little choice but to live in Chula Vista because of rising prices. The most spoken language in this area is Spanish. They are much safer now but even with lots of abandoned properties it’s difficult to police the entire area. What is left needs a lot of work. If you are a developer I would find private capital to do this kind of work. Additionally you should have someone on staff that knows how to navigate state back taxes and historical records.

I don’t know much about Loma except watch out for hidden taxes and “big money” from lawyers and doctors. Their money chases deals and inflates prices.

Keep in mind that if you are going with a 50% rule you are probably going to have to work with distressed properties. Finding properties ready to move in at the price point you are looking for is not going to be easy. In general you will have a hard time investing for cash flow in California, New York and Hawaii. Those are places where it is next to impossible to to use any rule because margins are so low. I know people successfully using a 50% rule outside of those areas such as Memphis TN and others. If you won't budge on numbers you need to budge on location. If you want to stick to your location you will have dance around your numbers...and that's a dangerous dance.

@Andrew Cross @Al Williamson

I am from CA and have been following Google Fiber since construction started. I am going to be moving to the KCMO soon and I've got to say, I won't even look at a place that doesn't have Google Fiber. I know a lot of other Millennials that feel the same. Here's the thing though, we don't expect it to cost more for the rents. We expect it to be the new standard. 

It will make sense that rents will rise in the beginning but once it is pervasive enough you will no longer be able to charge a premium for it. Most places I have called in the area already have Google Fiber. This typically means that places without Google Fiber are actually dropping rents to stay competitive. Prices of course go up for properties located in central / downtown KCMO for obvious reasons. A 2b1b at the Power and Light is north of $2000 but just go a few minutes south outside downtown and you can find a 2b1b for $1600. 

Personally I'm going with a 3b2b townhouse in the Briarcliff area north of North KC for around $1400, and yes, it has Google Fiber otherwise I wouldn't even consider it.

@Kirk Galt

Nice to meet you as well. I'll be moving to Kansas City MO within the  next month, I expect. However I am always eager to connect with like minded people and I endeavor to be a sponge in investing. 

Thank you.

(Yay me I finally realized how to link names!)

@Ziv Magen

That is very interesting information you have within your articles and increases my excitement to move to Japan and begin my investment career.

Hello @Jasmine Bu @Dan Baker @Daniel Ryu @Ziv Megan @Bill Baldwin and all,

This post is truly interesting. My wife is Japanese and we currently live in the U.S. Our goal is to invest in real estate here and move to Japan in 5 years, and do the same. I will be following this post and look forward to hear from you all on this subject. FYI my wife is from the Niigata area.

I am familiar with some nuances of U.S. commercial real estate market but no nothing of the Japanese market. If any of you knows where to get access to that info it would be appreciated if you passed it along. 

Everyone,

Thank you for the support. The quick responses are encouraging.