All Forum Posts by: Shane Pearlman

Technically that could be the outcome as we have created the cash flow necessary , but I am not built for “retirement” and I enjoy running our software company too much. I’ll be working remotely.

@Colton C. Bit late to the discussion. I'd aim for a tri or fourplex. Something where the profits from having three units rented carries most or all of the fourth. To pull that off, it will need to be a beater and then you can fix it up and drive equity into it. You can supplement your own unit with Airbnb, although pay attention to the neighborhood as santa cruz has a moratorium on new vacation rentals, capitola only allows them on certain streets etc etc. If you want to chat out ideas, come to the meetup in Santa Cruz on wed night june 20th @ 7pm at pour. 

@J. Martin you should come and say goodbye.

@Arlen Chou you too buddy.

Join us in Santa Cruz for a special real estate social meetup! Meet lots of people, come enjoy the warm weather and share a cold brew and delicious snacks.

We talk about some of the local and out-of-area deals that people have been doing. At the last event conversations tapped into out-of-state investing opportunities, tiny homes, cannabis property, partnering on deals, buying bulk REOs, finding realtors and property mangers in out-of-state areas, valuations in other areas of California like Modesto & Mendocino County, and getting permits in Santa Cruz county. Bring your deals and let's negotiate.

I will also be saying goodbye as I am moving to the Canary Islands, and will miss you all a bunch. I accept hugs, well wishes and smiles. I'll be passing on the meeting to a few friends who have shown the interest and experience.

If you have never come, this is a SOCIAL event. No lectures, no formal pitching, no products, packages, gurus or anything besides avid investors telling stories and getting advice on our adventures.

When: Wednesday, June 20th, 2018, 7pm

Where: Santa Cruz Pour Taproom

RSVP: Please let us know Yes / No on Meetup so that we can set the venues expectations: https://www.meetup.com/Santa-Cruz-Real-Estate-Inve... 

Please support the local business we mob by spending some money and tipping for the great service we receive! They will have both food and nice drinks. I'll hang there till it ends (about 10pm depending on how conversation flows).

Can't wait to see you all, reply if you want to come.

- Shane Pearlman

People typically come from: Santa Cruz, Felton, Boulder Creek, Ben Lomond, Brookdale, Bonny Doon, Lompico, Scotts Valley, Live Oak, Capitola, Soquel, Aptos, Watsonville, Freedom, Corallitos, Pajaro, Seaside, Castroville, Moss Landing, Salinas, Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Marina, Aromas, Monterey, Carmel, Los Gatos, Campbell, Saratoga, San Jose, San Mateo, Davenport, & Half Moon Bay.

If someone wants to run one, I have a meetup group with over 300 people for the bp real estate meetup in santa cruz. I'm moving to Spain in a couple months so I haven't been running them at the moment. https://www.meetup.com/Santa-Cruz-Real-Estate-Investor-Meetup/members/?sort=join_date&desc=true

Santa Cruz county. Dm me in BP. 

welcome!!! You can definitely do very well in town if you have the patience to wait for the right cycle and willingness to do the math properly. I started buying locally in 2005 and the last 10 years have been both extremely education and very good to us. 

I run a local quarterly social investor meetup and the next one is this coming Friday at discretion. Come hang out, share a been and get stories from experienced investors. https://www.meetup.com/Santa-Cruz-Real-Estate-Inve...

There is a somewhat quarterly meetup in Santa Cruz. Next one is on Friday, June 23rd. It usually has anywhere between 15 - 40 people depending on the date. Look forward to seeing you there. I think @Rico O. is coming from Salinas.

https://www.meetup.com/Santa-Cruz-Real-Estate-Inve...

Good call @Jimmy Ho - I did embed it on a blog we quickly put online (its in rough draft mode). I'll ask Joshua to look into stitcher / soundcloud. 

@Steve Ford

In a strong seller market within a half mile of the railroad tracks (e.g. not the mountain towns), with a thoughtful and talented agent who gets proper exposure, your statement may be correct. It is likely the property(s) will find their natural price, should you gain enough interest.

MF Zoning. Proper zoning, with viable space setbacks and parking, access to utilities etc.. is definitely a value. There are local ordinances which affect opportunity, like live oak limiting the number of floors to two stories (although this could have changed). Would it be worth more to a developer than a single family, possibly, but not necessarily unless you subdivided. A family typically buys for lifestyle and vision. An investor / developer because there is an opportunity. I’ve often seen personal buyers pay far more for something they treasure than any investor would consider. The advantage is that you can market to both types of buyers. I have a number of multifamily properties in town, which are not worth all that much more than a high end house on the same lot would sell for. They are just a better source of rental income.

The House. The value of the SFR, if it is a good one in a good place, is likely to exceed the value of the land for a MF build. It will really depend on the property itself. It depends on what the zoning is and if someone can combine the parcels to build a bigger complex. While raw land has strong value in our constrained little piece of the world compared to many other places (as @andrew johnson mentioned), it probably doesn't exceed the value of a solid house at the top of a market cycle. Same comment as above. Market to both audiences.

Market Timing. Don't wait. We are nearing, or are even past, the peak of the local market boom. Interest rates have begun to rise. While it is currently a sellers market, I have started to see slightly longer times on market for higher priced listings and less frenzied bidding in general. Land is not something a savvy builder / investor typically buys at a premium at the top of a market. It takes time to build and by the time they finish, the market will have begun to correct. The question comes down to your family’s goal. Is it getting very to dollar or having a quick painless sale? Do you have a 1031 lined up or is this a person home with a tax exemption? The impact of those questions should shape your selling strategy.

How to Find the Right Price. You probably looked at the current competition and reviewed active listings, but in case you haven’t start there. A good agent will get you comps from the last year. Probably already have and recommended a sale price. It won’t be perfect as the market has come up over the last year, but as I don’t see it rising much more, they will give you a strong basis for conversation. Make sure you get comps for land w/ MF zoning as well as SF comps. Analyze price per USABLE sq foot when looking at land. Consider what work has been done on the comps, because a raw piece of land vs. a prepped piece of land vs. a piece of land with an architectural plan and permits are not the same value. In addition to the agents, if you feel the need to do some of your own homework, try calling the office of a few of the major developers (Barry Swenson…) in town and ask them what they would consider a fair price per sq foot. I’m sure you’d get all kinds of wacky answers, but it should be educational. 

At the end of the day, your agent should be able to guide you and if you don’t feel great about them, find another. I have two in town I have done over a dozen deals with and am happy to refer them if you DM me.

As a side note, there is a local meet up planned on Friday 23rd at Discretion Brewing (find it on meetup.com). You are welcome to come talk to some of the local investors to get their 2c. I think the San Jose meet up is even sooner and they have a solid group as well.

BTW - welcome to Bigger Pockets! Give a vote when you see a helpful answer as it keeps the more successful investors engaged and helping the new folks. Its good karma.