All Forum Posts by: Sophie P.

thank you Anthony and Manolo,

Manolo - you are absolutely right that we just need to accept it, we are writing it off as "school fees", lesson learnt. Unfortunately you cannot take someone's word anymore. 

He is however, lienced, we checked that before we hired him. He came highly recommended by the estate agent that we bought the house with.

What we would like to know is how best to move forward in terms of getting the red tag removed and moving forward with completing the project. We are not going to continue with any work until we get the ok from the council but would like to make this transition as smooth and efficient as possible. 

Do you know any reliable, trustworthy, licensed, bonded contractors in Marin?

We bought a house in Marin a few months ago, we had 5 contractors come out to bid on some minor kitchen work we wanted to do. The General contractor we chose seemed honest, trustworthy and came highly recommended. The first week he seemed to be doing a good job but after that it went downhill - the GC was never on site, he had 2 subs who worked long hours and were very nice guys but didn't seem to have the finesse or expertise required to do the job. Even I could see that lines weren't straight, dry wall was not done correctly and the electrical didn't look right. When we questioned the Gc about this he always had a different story - *he had drilled through the PG&E cable at his own house so couldn't be at our house that week as he had to tend to his own house. * he had fallen getting out of a cab and he couldn't walk for the next few days * he had spent all the money we'd already paid him on fixing up his own house and couldn't pay his subs that week So many red flags and warning signs along the way. Last week when my husband questioned him about his work list and why things had not been done correctly, the GC grabbed his tools and stormed out after telling my husband that we are too meticulous. The things we had requested were merely that he maintain California construction standards. After he left we had a proper electrician and a great plumber come out and look at the work and turns out that everything that the previous GC had done is not to code and all had to be pulled out. It's costing us upwards of $3,500 to reverse. But the real nail in the coffin is that we suddenly had the county inspector rock up at our house and red flag it saying that they were notified that we are having "unpermitted work being done in our kitchen"?! Which means that the GC never even pulled permits?! The only thing that we can think is that that GC knew he hadn't pulled permits and is now trying to "get back at us". We paid him about 80% of his fee, he hadn't completed the project and it turns out all the work he DID do wasn't done correctly. If there is anyone that can provide some advice on how to deal with a situation like this, it would be greatly appreciated. We feel like we really got "screwed" on this one especially because we tried to follow all the correct steps in hiring a GC.

thank you for all your comments so far; appreciate all the input.

I flew in to Utah this morning and have just visited the site and met the team in person. I have also had a chance to chat to a few locals (that have no connection to any of the team members or know what I'm in Utah for) and it is all sounding very positive.

It is a huge first investment for sure and it is definitely scary. 

Will keep you posted on how we go.

@Justin R.

Thanks for your input Justin; I think you misread that... Potential Gross Rents are $67,200 ($1,400/unit per month = $5,600 per four flex per month)

According to the pro forma:

Vacancy has been calculated at 3%

Maintenance & Cleaning is at 1% of Operating Income - $600 annually

HOA's are 11% of Operating Income (which covers all exterior costs) - $7,200 annually

Taxes are 7% of Operating Income $4,400 annually

Insurance at 1% of Operating Income $500

Utilities are paid by tenant

yup apparently the HOA covers all exteriors but I just feel like this deal is really good and cos it's my first deal I'm a little worried that I may be missing something

Hi Everyone,

I'm currently looking at a deal that could be our first deal ever - It's very exciting but of course I'm trying to keep emotions out of it as this is purely an investment property. We are looking at it as a buy-and-hold.

I think the numbers look good but I thought I'd run it by the BP community first. Any inout would be greatly appreciated.

New build 4 plex currently under construction in American Fork, UT. Set to be completed in the Summer of 2017.

The Following Info is according to the information from the Developer:

Purchase Info

Initial Market Price: $700,000

Purchase Price: $649,900

Initial Cash Invested: $187,475

Income Analysis

Net Operating Income Annually: $52,484

Cash Flow Annually: 22,847

Financial Metrics

Cap Rate (Purchase Price): 8.1%

Cash on Cash Return (year 1): 12.2%

Internal Rate of Return (year 10): 19.6%

Sale Price (Year 10): $896,059

Rental Income is forecast to be $1,400 per unit

Units are 3bed, 2 bath and a garage

Units are 1,600 Sqft

I feel that the seller is optimistic on some of the numbers so in my calculations I have increased expenses (CapEx budget, management Fee at 8%, Insurance, Utilities) and I have also increased the vacancy rate from 3 to 5.2%.

According to my calculations our Monthly Income works out to $5,600 and Expenses to $4,380.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Thanks so much!

Soph

Hi Charlie,

Sounds like we are in the same boat. I'm trying to break free from the "analysis Paralysis" as well. I live in San Fran and the market here is just too expensive for me to invest in. After many hours of research, Utah seems like the state that holds a lot of promise with regards to real estate investing. Initially I looked into South Ogden but recently was told that north Utah county is where it's at - Provo, Orem, American Fork. Would love to hear your thoughts on this especially since you live out that way.

I have just started working with an agent in Provo, I found a foreclosure that I think could be a pretty good deal - it does require some initial work but the rental return is decent and the ARV is pretty good too. Will let you know how the process goes.

@Jake McKay thank you for your response Jay. I'll do some more research and may reach out to Candace in the future.

@William Hochstedler and @Mike Gallagher Thanks for your replies guys.

@Account Closed!

I'm looking at investing in SFR's in Ogden. I have never been there, I have been doing a lot of research and it seems that there are quite a few large companies relocating that way. Seems like the financial and bio-tech sectors are booming there. I am hesitant only because when I read about Ogden, so often there is mention of crime, drugs, sketchy tenants etc. Is there an agent that focuses on this area and that would be keen to discuss potential opportunities and the market there? I have been looking at 2/3 BR homes in the$100,000 range in the North Ogden - Pleasant View area. Thanks so much!

Holly Allen hi Holly, welcome to BP! I'm also a newbie but loving this community so far. I'm looking at investing out of state (I live in CA) and have been interested in Colorado for a while but feel like I've missed the bus on it. Would you mind sharing your thoughts on condo prices and the current condo rental market in your area? Is there a high demand for a certain type of property? Any tips would be much appreciated. Maybe we could work on something. Thanks so much!