All Forum Posts by: Shannon Allaire

Gotcha. Thanks @Nathan Platter Gonna have to read up on this stuff. 

Thanks for your thoughts @Nathan Platter and @Greg Scott . It does seem like investing in a multi-family at some point is the way to go, mostly because, from what I understand, I can qualify for more financing (in addition to using my home's equity) for that type of vehicle (as opposed to w/ a SFH) based on the potential rental income of a 5+ unit building.

@Nathan Platter You wrote that the equity in my home can be used to "create tax benefits/writeoffs." Can you explain what you mean by this or point me to a resource?

@Greg Scott Getting 15-20% seems like a lot of return on a new investment; I do want to hear about your experience investing in properties you've never seen. The out-of-state turn-key rental companies kind of scare me; not sure if that's what you did. I'll PM you. Thanks, again. 

Hey Moguls,

Newbie looking for advice on the best use of the ~$170K in equity I have in my SFH in East Oakland. I bought it in late 2015 and my home's value has gone up a lot. Currently, I live in one room and rent out the other two to friends, whose rent is helping to pay off the ~350K I have left on the mortgage. (It is not technically "cash flowing," but their rent pays most of the mortgage.) The house is in quick walking distance to the Fruitvale BART station.

I'm interested in using the equity to buy some other investment that WILL cash flow, but I don't know what. I could possibly qualify for another conventional mortgage, I could take out a HELOC to put a down payment on something (But where? Oakland is so expensive. Do I go out-of-state?) but I don't know. Or I could build a tiny home in the back of my lot, an ADU, or add to the house. Or, I could wait and see if the house's value goes up even more.

Any advice?

Great info. Thanks @Sabrina Brown

@Sabrina Brown I am in the SF Bay Area and interested in OOS TK investing, so I'd like to know what you could offer that would be a value-add over what current TK companies are providing. For me, the most important thing is transparency, and I don't mean a lot of fine print; it's understanding what I, as an investor, want to know throughout the lifecycle of my engagement with you, and providing that information in a simple user interface.

@Akshat Jain I started learning about OOS investing from a BP member who mentioned https://www.roofstock.com/. I only own in Oakland but I check out this site to see how their analyses and buyer interface have been evolving. 

@Amit M. I am on your side about the "keep it local" thing -- that feels safer to me; as a local I know all the weird ins-and-outs of a place. But I wonder, as someone who has been successful in local REI, what do you think of something like Roofstock? (I'm not sure if they are the only company offering pre-vetted properties OOS that you can buy sight unseen.)