All Forum Posts by: Stefan Isaksen

Hi @John Jacobs !  Yes there are some of us on here that are crazy enough to invest in Rent Controlled communities where we live :-) It's Berkeley and Oakland for me and I'd be happy to chat with you.

Hi Jose,

PM me and we can bounce some ideas around.  I work mostly in Oakland, and Berkeley but do some deals in Richmond and would be happy to speak with you.

@Nick C. Nice to make your acquaintance... I look forward to seeing you in person on Saturday.

@Jay Helms My long term goal is to hold for cash flow so in that way I'm leaning towards just building and holding a duplex.  Prices are so high though that it's definitely tempting to try one of the other options and then trade into something bigger.

@Jo-Ann Lapin Yes Oakland makes it expensive and difficult to build... They just added a  24k permitting fee for each new rental unit constructed.  19k of it supposedly goes towards a "low income housing fund"

Take this with a grain of salt for LA but in Oakland and Berkeley the main resources buyers use are Owner move in evictions and Tenant buyouts.  You could try to negotiate one or more tenant buyouts while in contract to buy (which I've seen done successfully).  I also recently saw a buyer in Berkeley cancel their purchase agreement when the tenants (in a one bedroom apartment in a duplex) turned down a 60k buyout offer.  So basically if you can't get a buyout done before completing the purchase you'd better have a good back up plan like moving in yourself or moving in a family member.

Good luck!

I have a triplex in North Oakland on a large city lot in an area that has seen dramatic appreciation in the 10 years.  An adjoining property with similar footprint, lot size etc. sub-divided and built a single family home behind a duplex.  They sold the new 1,700 sq ft. home for 1.1 Million a year ago which caught my attention and made me want to consider my options.  I'd love to hear some ideas about the pluses and minuses of doing a project.  Some options that I'm considering and seem feasible after a bit of investigation at the city are-

1-Subdivide and sell the lot (with or without entitlements)

2-Create 2 new micro-lots and build 2 townhouse style homes to sell

3- Subdivide and build a duplex to hold (no rent control on new construction = big plus in Oakland)

4-Subdivide and build a single family home to sell

Thanks in advance for any ideas!

Thanks @Chris Mason!  It's always great to have you there just to answer general loan questions too :-)  I'd definitely like to hear your take on cryptocurrency, I want nothing to do with them personally but they're becoming more and more relevant.

Thanks Kevin, I'll look forward to meeting you and Michael!

Get 2018 off to a good start with this opportunity to network and discuss RE Investment strategies.  Newbies are absolutely welcome and I'm hoping that #Chris Mason will be able to attend and give us a 5 minute update on where loans are headed later in 2018.  As always, I'll have some talking points to present if needed but am planning to just let the room network and discuss strategies, successes, and challenges organically.

Please RSVP by replying in the thread!

@ Gayle Eisner  Yes it will apply to the South Bay as well.  We usually have a mix of people from different areas but the discussion is often different strategies etc. and not necessarily area specific.

Stefan