All Forum Posts by: Amit M.

@jmartin I invest in SF. Be curious to hear from you about the east bay market. Cheers.

I'm vacationing now in the sunny Mediterranean Sea (it's 80 degrees and perfect beaches btw) but returning 11/15. So if I break my jet lag I'd like to come by.

Any idea how bad parking is over there?

frisco is still muy caliente, and I suspect the better areas of Silicon Valley/peninsula are as well.

@Ann Watkins the Internet attracts a lot of wannabes, and it's an easy place for some people to play out their RE investing fantasies, so as a service provider beware :)

At first you sounded like a troll, but I gotta admit it was kinda funny too ;)

Wonder how many feathers you will ruffle, but OTOH I understand your frustrations too. This should be a good popcorn thread, and god knows we need a few of those!

@David Krulac

@David Krulac

@David Krulac

@J Scott your comments are interesting. Can you share some details on what deals went bad, like city, prop type, price? 2002 was a good time to buy (and refi 1 year later went rates hit bottom). Of course 2008 was top of the market before big crash.

People make, and loose, money in all kinds of RE markets. But my experience has been that most who buy in the Bay Area already have a certain amount of cash to put down, so they can manage the cash flow situation. And in my case, I always buy props were I can put them to higher and better use, thus creating value by development and renovation. If you're buying retail and holding, you're more susceptible to market fluctuations. And of course there are significant variables within the Bay Area; Vallejo is a totally different story than the peninsula or SF.

@Sal G. your purchase price and returns look a lot like ours in San Francisco :) Most people on this site are cash flow investors, and don't operate in high end markets, where cash flow is not the main criteria.

Having said that, if you pay all cash it sounds like you are not relying on the positive cash flow for your living expenses. That being the case, what I would do is leverage this unit for a loan that breaks even for you. That would be about a $400,000 loan, and will leave you +$200/month for miscellaneous expenses. In manhattan, vacancy is normally not an issue if you know your units value, and if this is a new or renovated unit, repairs will be minimal. Then take the remaining cash to buy your next unit.

One caution about making your offer subject to loan. Since you have the cash, why not close all cash- you should be able to either get a better deal, or ensure that your offer will be accepted as it's all cash. Then as soon as you close, get your loan. You won't save much in closing costs IMO, especially not on high end props like this.

So what has the appreciation been like in the last 12-18 months on the upper east side? Also, isn't $655k cheap for that neighborhood (is this a tiny studio)?

yeah, be nice to the mogul.

just keep in mind, we're on an upward market swing and today everything looks good. RE cycles normally last several years, and the key is persevering when the market turns. You'll inevitably be challenged with vacancies/worse tenants, lower values, etc. It's less fun then (trust me :)

unforch I'm out of country for the 11/13, but in the future :)