All Forum Posts by: Swetha Ramaiah

Does it make sense to put half your savings into a triplex in Easy Bay (Oakland)? I put in an offer on a good cash flowing property(getting accepted today), but I'm getting nervous that I will be locked in forever on that triplex. I do intend to long term buy and hold. What are my options here in terms of refinancing.

I am taking a conventional loan by putting 25% down, with 4.25% interest rate.

I also intend to buy a primary residence costing less than 1.1M so I don't spend unnecessarily on rent.

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Susie Wyshak:

Thanks Susie. I stumbled upon this property, and wanted to see if this is worth considering as a primary residence. HOA is pretty high. Would there be appreciation potential? Eventually, I would probably give this out for rent and move out-of-state.

Palo Alto Redwoods

1 Vote

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions/ideas, really gave me perspective. I do want to add here, that I am a newbie investor and would want to prioritize a passive income stream. Having said that, I feel investing in Hayward/Oakland as well as OOS; and renting where I want to live (currently in Mountain view) seems like a better option given my situation.

On the other hand, if I already had a few streams of passive income, I would have leaned towards buying a SFH/townhome as primary residence in Mountain View..

0 Votes

I have owned 2 houses that I lived in at different points in time, in the last 8 years and have seen the appreciation and success of owing real estate in bay area.

Fast forward to now, I'm going through a divorce and in the process, had to sell our primary home. Im currently renting, on lease for 6 months.

Having seen the appreciation potential in Bay area, with the house sale proceeds, and putting some of my savings, Im intending to buy a home in Bay area as i do plan on staying here for 5 more years. But would love to get some advice. Here are some options I would need tips on..

Option 1. Rent in the area I am used to living in for the last decade(as I am doing so currently in Mountain view) and buy an investment property SFH in Hayward/Fremont and give it for rent

Option 2. Keep renting (money down the drain?) in Mountain view and invest out-of-state, as buying a SFH with single income in this area can be daunting.

Option 3. Buy a condo/townhome with HOA in Mountain view as primary residence.

Please advise.

I would appreciate people being nice, as I am still trying to find my financial footholding on my own.

3 Votes

@Cliff T. Thanks for the succinct steps laid out. I am starting as a new investor based in CA investing out-of-state in Pennsylvania. In terms of options, here is my understanding of all options. Is my understanding of options correct?

Option 1:

- Setup domestic LLC in PA
- Register PA LLC as foreign LLC in CA
- Pay FTB tax $800 in CA annually
- File tax returns in CA and PA

Option 2:

- Setup domestic LLC in CA as parent/primary entity
- Setup domestic LLC in PA with CA LLC as entity name
- AKA Disregard entity
- Pros: Avoid filing tax returns in PA, as cash flow is PA -> CA -> Owner
- Cons: expensive as we pay FTB per LLC

Option 3:

- File as domestic LLC in CA
- Register them as foreign to any state we are investing in PA

Do we need to file taxes in PA?

Option 4:

Setup a DST

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Aj Parikh:

I would definitely add networking with other investors on BP or through your local meet up. Even joining a mastermind group will escalate your investing in real estate. I joined the Rat Race to FI mastermind group and was able to close on 2 out of state investments. Just being in the group with other investors and mentors will help you answer your questions and it will also bring accountability to your investing. Let me know if you want to connect and chat about this group and my out of state investments.

I had not heard about this group, Rate Race to FI - interesting name... I would like to know about your experience with out of state investing.

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Chad Rocke:

Hey @Swetha Ramaiah

Welcome to BiggerPockets! You have hit the JACKPOT of resources for real estate investors. You can literally find answers to all of your questions within the confines of this site. What’s the best way to get started using BiggerPockets?

1.Subscribe to the BiggerPockets Money and Rookie Podcasts

2.Attend the FREE WEBINARS

3.Attend a Meetup in Your Area / virtual meet ups

4.Purchase the Beginner Books: How to Invest in Real Estate, Set for Life, The House Hacking Strategy

5.Peruse the forums! Ask questions! Answer Questions! If you are consistent with learning real estate over the next 4-6 months, you’ll be ready to purchase your first (or next) property in NO TIME!

Good luck,

Thanks Chad, I am literally breathing Real Estate Rookie every single day, there is so much I've learnt from that podcast. I will check out the BiggerPockets Money as well. I also recently signed up for local meetup group. I am looking to invest through TurnKey real estate for the first deal, just to familiarize myself with the process.

1 Vote

Originally posted by @Forrest Faulconer:

Originally posted by @Swetha Ramaiah:

Hi all, I reside in Bay Area, CA with a full time job in tech and been 2 months since I started reading and breathing BP podcasts/books on real estate. I did some research on out of state markets and some practice deal analysis based on what I see on Zillow and have narrowed down to 5-6 cities (is this still too broad. Before analysis paralysis sets in, I reached out to a few agents today in one of the cities - Oklahoma city(also just coz I went to school there), to get more info about the local market.

Now I feel like Im hitting a wall in terms of what direction to go in..

Should I get a mentor from a local real estate club (in Bay area) or should I look for a mentor in OKC real estate club? How does that work?

My analysis process has been: Listening to BP podcasts and reading blogs, i concluded that Price-Rent ratio is important, and so I analyzed different markets based on Zillow data (ZORI and ZHV). Thats how I narrowed down to these 5 cities. I need to further look at Population growth, Employment opportunities etc..Is this the right way?

Thanks for your post! Get a mentor wherever you can, if you can find someone local, all the better. Don't be afraid to ask questions along the way. There is a lot you can learn just talking with Realtors, lenders, title companies, etc. Reach out if you need anything!

Forrest Faulconer

Thanks Forrest! Thats good advice, would u know any multi family realtors in OKC?

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Ray Lin:

When I first started out, I was attending local real estate clubs and looking for a mentor. I paid to join the group, paid the investor/ mentor for guidance. In the end, it didn't work out for me, but you may have better luck. Attending local club, meeting successful mentor/ investors is the way to go. Eventually, the investors went their own separate ways and my mentor was not as successful as he portrayed.

My advice is don't give up. Real estate is a slow game. I had nothing for the first 5 years. Now, I have a nice small portfolio all free and clear. I like Warren Buffet's advice, work with people you like. Attend your local club, meet investors and you might find one.

Thanks @Ray. I have signed for a local Real estate meetup group, hoping to find it useful.

0 Votes

All Forum Posts by: Swetha Ramaiah

Swetha Ramaiah has started 3 posts and replied 11 times.

Post: Half of savings to buy my first investment multifamily in Oakland

Post: Half of savings to buy my first investment multifamily in Oakland

Post: Rent and buy investment property in Bay Area. Good idea?

Post: Rent and buy investment property in Bay Area. Good idea?

Post: Rent and buy investment property in Bay Area. Good idea?

Post: Living in CA, investing out of state. Where to form LLC?

Post: Rookie investor looking for Out of state investing and Mentorship

Post: Rookie investor looking for Out of state investing and Mentorship

Post: Rookie investor looking for Out of state investing and Mentorship

Post: Rookie investor looking for Out of state investing and Mentorship