All Forum Posts by: Sam M.

Dear BP, I am looking for good legal help to set up entities like LLC's and Corps for me. I prefer someone with real estate experience and I would like someone in or close to Rancho Cucamonga. Does anyone have a referral?

I purchased a rental (SFR) in Ontario California in 2008. It was foreclosed on the previous owner and we found it on the MLS. I paid $230k. The county keeps increasing my assessed value! I just got a notice that it will be $346k for 2015. It also says the max assessment (prop 13 value) is $346k. I thought prop 13 is based on the price I paid when I bought it. Can I fight this?

Victorville is considered to be "high desert" not "inland Empire". The Inland Empire is Ontario, Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, Rialto, San Berdoo, Riverside (and a few more in between). Do you have any land in the Inland Empire? 

Is there a particular city or area? 

Wilfred, I have a 3-plex is riverside that cash flows nicely. However I purchased it in 2011. Just out of curiosity are you finding your properties on the MLS or another way? Without good cash flow is your objective to get appriciation? It seams like retail prices are getting really high. Affordability is okay now but what happens when the Feds increase rates? Bruce Norris who operates in Riverside and is well regarded for his market expertise seems to be giving signals of market caution lately. Are you concerned about the possibility that you could be buying at a high point? It seems like flipping is still a good strategy and buy and hold with cash flow would be good. But buying for appreciation might be risky. What do you think?

yes I went to one meeting. It was pretty small (~20 people) but I met a few people and the topic was good. The Mission Inn is a really nice venue. My impression is that the meeting is fairly new so maybe they are having a hard time getting the critical mass to keep it going. I would go again if they get something on the calendar. 

There is the "Inland Empire Real Estate Investment Club". It's on Meetup.com. They last meeting was Dec 22 2014 at the Mission Inn in Riverside. The organizer is Todd Bayer of the Rehab Loan Group. 

http://www.meetup.com/Inland-Empire-Real-Estate-Investment-Club/

@Larry Chafe, I was wondering... now that more time has passed, what do you think of the REI Matcher system? I checked out your website and it has a lot of great information. Just wondering how well it is working for you.

I found a few a run-down houses in a neighborhood that like. What's the best way to approach to see if they would be interested in selling?  What works best for those of you who have had success? How do you start the conversation? 

@Chris K. 

I didn't have a problem with the dog, I evicted on the basis of the tethered dog because it was a lease violation. I provided her with the 3-day notice to conform or quit. The pet addendum of my lease requires that dogs have a license / tag and that they not be left unattended in common areas. Actually I listed about 6 or so violations. I just made a list of all of things that I could find in the lease. She didn't respond so she was evicted. Unfortunately it cost me about $1,000 for the UD for a studio that makes $550 per month. On top of that, I had some repairs and vacancy for a couple of months. I created my own turnover! It was a hard pill to swallow since she was paying the rent. The problem was that she was a nuisance to the other tenants and she made it difficult to show the other units (this is a 3-plex). In the end, it was the right thing to do because I was able to clean the place up and get good tenants that stay longer and have fewer problems.