All Forum Posts by: Taylor Ferris

Try looking into areas that are within driving distance but still in CA if you want something a little closer then OOS. Places like Vallejo, Antioch or the Sacramento areas have potential and lower price points.

Awesome, look forward to seeing you at the MeetUp. As I'm sure you're aware competition in the Bay Area is pretty steep competition but real opportunities do pop up from time to time. Most of the good MFR opportunities in our area are going to require some TLC as well as the ability to work with inherited tenants through the rent control hurdles but Oakland can be a great place to a great place to invest.

I'd be happy to grab coffee or a drink and talk shop if you're up for it!  

Hi @Paul Bryzek welcome officially to BiggerPockets! A couple of months ago I was fortunate enough to come across a meet up hosted by @Katie Pratt and @Merced F. where I learned about this amazing community. They are hosting another event in the area this month on September 17th https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/47.... 

If you can make it you should definitely come out. 

J. Martin is also putting on his annual summit in October on the 7th and 8th. https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/445883-san-francisco-bay-summit---oct-7-and-8-2017---join-the-reunion

@Eric Chang, if you can make it work with your numbers hiring a property manager who is familiar with the intricacies of the rent control ordinance can be very helpful. They can handle the contracts, manage repairs and can help avoid problematic situations. The other benefit is a good property manager frees up your time to work on your business instead of in your business. You get to focus more on finding additional opportunities and can scale more effectively. If you're considering hiring a property manager for the property, even if it's just for the first year, I suggest interviewing more than one. 

If you decide not to utilize a qualified property manager you should consult an RE attorney to help make sure all of the leases are set up properly. 

@Ariel Vincent, definitely a good question ;)! I'm not sure about the rules in Sac town. Went to UC Davis and have friends up that way. Definitely love Sacramento but unfortunately don't know a lot about tenants rights for the area. :-P

Even if you decided to "not renew the lease" you can't just kick the tenants out. If there is eviction control in the city you own, which I assume there probably is since the SFR is in the Bay Area, the tenants will automatically assume a month to month lease. If you want them out and they don't want to leave you would most likely need to go through the eviction process which would not be easy because they likely fall under a protected class being over 60 years old. That said as Arlen mentioned since it's a SFR you should be able to raise the rent to market and they might leave. If nothing else you would get better rent. The caveat, I'm not sure if a protected tenant (over 60), is protected from rent increases, anyone know for sure? I'm not a lawyer and nothing Ive said should be taken over what an attorney would tell you. Before you take any steps you should consult with an RE attorney in the area. Some will give you a free consultation especially if it's just answering a couple of quick questions.

The amount of information available on real estate investing is a bit overwhelming when you begin to jump in. As a result, it can be very difficult figure out what your goals are or where to even start. Some folks on this thread have suggested reading books which I totally agree with but you can also get a lot of useful information by listening to the BiggerPockets podcasts, I've listened to about 60 out of 250. They can really help you understand the language, the different ways you can invest and always provide real life accounts from other investors. The Bay Area is a hard place right now to find a deal that will cash flow. While it's more attainable to find a deal that will break even I understand that's not ideal. As Arlen indicated, in this area you really need to look at the long term potential of owning the property. If you want to find a deal in the Bay Area you'll need to be constantly vigilant. That means working with an agent to find properties on the MLS, networking with other investors and wholesalers and driving neighborhoods to find properties that owner may sell to you directly (properties that look vacant or neglected if your ok with a bit of rehabilitation). If prices are still not working out for you and you still want to own in CA, start looking into areas within driving distance. Hope this helps!

@nav, I don't know much about the Vegas market outside of what I read online. I also know an investor who owns warehouses out there and does pretty well with those but he's owned them since the early 90's. One of his favorite aspects is he gets to write off his Vegas trips, which he takes once a year on Father's Day weekend, as a business expense. I'd be interested to hear about what you learn on your trip when return. I'm also curious if there are any Las Vegas folks who can provide some insight on Nav's opportunity.

Matt Davies did you ever get more detail on whether or not you need to include you BRE# on the notes? Seems like that would be a non-issue to me but I could be wrong. Thanks!

Hi Danielle, if you don't know good contractors in the area you can try bidding it out on Thumbtack.com. If you haven't used it before the sites walks you through the process which is pretty straightforward. You post your request and multiple contractors will contact you. IMO getting out of a house with big foundation problems will help you avoid problems later down the line. Renting the house in Berkeley can, as you said, put you in a potentially challenging situation with tenants when you decide it's time to sell. See if you can get some better bids from other contractors but If it turns out you're not going to get the ROI from doing the work it may be time to cut your losses and let someone else handle it.