All Forum Posts by: Grey Stone

I do understand where you are coming from. I am also a little leery of giving a welcome gift, as sometimes when you are nice, people feel they can WALK ALL OVER that cute little face, lol. BUT I have received gifts from my lender, multiple times. So, I'm starting to think it depends. I have a really friendly disposition, so I have to be very careful not to cross the professional boundaries. If you are going to do a gift keep it simple and fairly cheap. Remember you do NOT want a tenant to become high maintenance, so keep it simple and generic. I would think if they paid rent on time, low maintenance, took care of the property, easy to work with, etc. maybe send a small gift after signing another lease, letting them know you value their business, but again, it can get tricky...

I would say it depends. 

Many agents want to earn more commissions and you are providing them that opportunity. From one property the agent will get two commissions. Similar to having a client sell their home to buy another with that same agent. BUT better in your scenario because if the buyer were to have issues with financing or still looking at other properties, the agent would have a front row seat to that info.

If the list price is close to what you are wanting to pay, if it's a hot market, if it's an out of town or inexperienced agent or if you are experienced this can work in your favor. Some agents will immediately tell you they may offer a reduction of their commission or they will "make sure" your offer gets accepted. 

Some agents are slime balls and can be incredibly deceptive. It would be hard for any person to remain neutral and "fair". Sometimes you will even see some agents cut throat to both parties and only care about getting their commission. 

Essentially, you will become your own advocate. So make sure you have all correspondence in writing, double check all contracts before signing. If at any time you feel uncomfortable, contact local attorneys that specialize in real estate to see if you can ask questions. If you run into a serious problem, you can also contact the real estate board.

Sometimes dual agency can work beautifully and other times it can become a war. For anyone looking to do it, just be careful.

I love investing in the AV. Part of that is because I am local and know the area very well and like having my investments close. Another benefit is the cost of entry. You can find properties significantly cheaper than other parts of Los Angeles county, while cash flowing very well. This is a huge benefit because this allows you to buy more properties and scale faster. Have fun and good luck!

The AV tanked last recession. Prices fell hard, rents fell some in less desirable areas. Focusing on military families can be a great strategy. People that work at Edward's have excellent job security. Make sure they are employees, not independent contractors. And with that you have to find people that like renting and like renting from you. Make sure you maintain a desirable property and keep healthy reserves. Protection from a recession is also, why I am very reluctant to pull money out of my properties. I always try to have a few viable exit strategies. I really do think the people that were hit hard were way too overleveraged. As long as you keep it simple and make sure you are skilled in tenant selection, you should be fine. Although I think we have more time in this bull market, I am becoming much more selective in tenant screening and property selection. 

There are tons of investors that buy in Lancaster and Palmdale and there is a reason! I sell properties with high quality, pre-screened tenants that I'm sure would pass any reasonable investor's criteria. You will also see homes listed with a tenant in place from time to time. Just make sure you also perform your own tenant screening to make sure you're not buying someone's problem. In 2020, you can glaze over redfin and find properties that can offer 15-25% cash on cash returns. It is all in your strategy. I have absolutely no problem buying on the Eastside. Although there are a few neighborhoods that I won't touch. The AV is truly neighborhood specific. Hop in the car and drive around. Lower income does NOT mean bad investment. We have plenty of people that work on base and Northrop, both are on the Eastside.....meanwhile the prison is on the Westside. I hear many of the people that work there, prefer to live on the Eastside because it is simply closer to work. If you are limited on cash to invest and like high cash flow, the AV is great. If you prefer high appreciation and have more money to invest, I would recommend buying in Los Angeles and some parts of the IE. Do what fits your goals best, not what sounds trendy. If you are a long term investor, my biggest piece of advice is making sure your property can survive on it's own even if rent prices drop a bit. 

Hey, I'm a local investor and would like to meet new people that also love real estate...cheesey, yes, I know, but very true. Are you having another meetup?

I personally would recommend buying cheap houses instead of land, unless you have a plan for it. A huge benefit of the AV is the ability of being able to cash flow, while prices are seen as "high". I always look at, how will this purchase make me money? Unfortunately, I'm not smart enough (yet) to figure out how to make investing in land more profitable than housing....especially seeing that we are in the midst of a housing shortage that will continue to get worse. Investing in the AV is great, but make sure that property will cash flow well.

Personally, I hate the idea of investing out of state. BUT, there are tons of people that do successfully invest out of state and enjoy it. I would think the key would be having a good team in place (property manager, real estate agent, handymen/contractors, attorney, etc). I would think, the most important thing is making sure you have a great property manager. Because if this person is great, they will be able to take care of everything for you, but again my trust is just not that strong, lol. Hopefully someone that successfully invests out of state will join the thread. Good luck!

It really depends where the home is. Yes, most people would say the Westside is more desirable...but there are good and bad neighborhoods on both sides. Some areas on the Eastside are actually nice and wouldn't have a problem getting rented with a good tenant. I've talked with a lot of military families that prefer the Eastside because it is closer to base. I would focus more on making sure you market and price the rooms well, so that you receive maximum exposure and are able to choose a tenant that is a good fit. Btw, I also recommend Graham's video.