All Forum Posts by: Taylor Cu

@Taylor Cu I moved to Sacramento just a few months ago from the East Bay (Berkeley!). There are a number of investor-friendly agents located in the Sacramento ... if you're gut is telling you to find a new agent I would definitely reach out to some others. I'm sure @Gordon Cuffe has some good recommendations. I'll message you with some of my ideas as well!

@Taylor Cui used to own a rental house in Citrus Heights . You can pm me with any questions about agents and investing here and out of state . 

Welcome to BP @Taylor Cu! Prices in the Bay Area are still going up, but at a lower rate. As a real estate broker, I might recommend looking at different markets. There plenty of other opportunities elsewhere, my clients are involved in institutional grade properties across the country. My recommendation is to choose cities in safe and economically diversified areas with above-average income and population growth. It can also be safer to diversify your investment properties across the country. There is still good money to be made in AZ, FL, GA, TX and other states, however, picking the right submarkets is key.

A very good source of local analysis is rereport.com.

@Taylor Cu  there are 250 or so folks that did pod casts I am not so special.. but I do believe wholeheartily as someone who grew up in the bay area.. that I would do everything I could to get a property in the bay area and house hack is a perfect way.. way before I would venture to other markets..once you have that accomplished then go hunting for more.

Suggest you get a duplex out of SFBA 2 hour driving distance, Stockton, ELk Grove etc. to get a taste first.

You try in SFBA and can not pay for vacancy or pitch in mortgage or huge down payment you are losing money until the Recession hits here (<24 months). Then you have no tenants and huge expenses.

Those in SFBA with recently acquired rentals are looking for tax write off.

@Taylor Cu  if you don't own a primary in the bay area you may want to consider house hacking.. best of both worlds

gets a roof over your head.. and you can use FHA 3.5% down loan to get your first one.. 4 plex would be great live in one unit rent the other three out live for free that would be the goal.. that in my mind is what I would do Very first thing before looking for any other real estate.. what is one out of state small rental going to do for you.. unless you have a way to scale out of state.. you should stick in state and put a roof over your head.. that's my opinion.. don't get so caught up in does it cash flow does it not does it appreciate does it not.. you get a 2 to 4 plex in the bay area keep it forever and you can retire on it in 30 years.. not going to happen buying one or a few out of state cheapie rentals that make 200 a month.. and never appreciate.. I like out of state for 10 or more doors.. you need to find a way to get that.. you want that 2k a month coming in so every year you can add at least one more door just one your cash flow.

 Easiest one to think of is new transit hubs. If a government actually finishes some new BART station or ferry terminal, making a new commute route more doable, that's a pretty solid predictor of home values near said transit hub. But, like the name indicates, it's pure speculation if this ferry terminal, or that bullet train, is ever actually going to get built.

Taylor Cu

With your background, flipping might be a better choice.

Hi @Taylor Cu,

One thing to keep in mind is rent appreciation & Prop 13.

Texas: Rent went up 10%, yay! But now the tax man says my property tax bill went up 20%, awww. :(

California: Rent went up 10%, yay! Tax man can't touch me because of Prop 13, yay a second time!

I've seen plenty of people build modest rental portfolios by doing nothing more than converting the old home to a rental, instead of selling it, after 5 years when they are ready to move onto a new home. Prop 13 doesn't go away just because you moved out, you can keep the 30YF you got when you purchased it, and your insurance starts to get cheaper as you have multiple policies with the same agent. Rent goes up over time, but expenses in California tend to hold flat relative to inflation.

Outside of that waiting game, there are cashflow positive deals in the Bay Area, they cross my desk frequently. You might have to do a little more than double click to have Redfin show you multifamily, like have a local agent send you daily notices when anything multifamily in Pittsburg, Vallejo, Oakland, etc (build your own city list), hits the market, and then run numbers when you get home from work (not just rent/capex/etc, but run comps on the property to figure out what it'll actually sell for, since we know list price is irrelevant in our area).