All Forum Posts by: Kyle K.

On average, we've been seeing apartments going for 5.15% cap rates. We've actually recently found one at 7% which is pretty much unheard of in this market.

However, despite the low cap rates (they'll never get that high in So Cal), cucaloco, there is most DEFINITELY cash flow in apartments. Every property we acquire generates positive cash flow right off the bat; if they didn't, we wouldn't pursue them.

As for homes, in San Diego county, one would be hard-pressed to acquire a single family home that would cash flow as a rental. Maybe inland empire is a different story, but that's not my market. Apartments in San Diego County, however, are where the cash flow is.

As Frank mentioned, Cap rates vary from city to city, and even from neighborhood to neighborhood. However, I certainly wouldn't say that cap rates are a big joke.

To utilize cap rates in your favor, you have to really understand cap rates and the market in which you wish to invest. That takes more than just leg work; it takes experience investing within a certain market. Therefore, if you come across a gem in Southern California selling at a 7% cap rate and you know the market is around 5.15%, you're looking at a deal right off the bat.

Of course, I'm not saying look at cap rates to evaluate a property. It's still all about expenses and income. Look for those poorly managed properties that you can turn around... and if you can get the property at a favorable cap rate, all the better.

You guys got me all wrong. These guys don't even know who I am, let alone what property I'm looking to modify.

When I said I'm just doing some pre-planning leg work, that's really all I'm doing. I haven't gotten into any specifics or anything yet

We're looking to make some modifications on the current property and I was doing the leg work to see what restrictions we should expect with further development.

We're in the pre-planning stages, so I'm not too worried about developing a rapport with the customer service guy in the Planning department.

Thanks.... those bastards at the zoning office weren't very helpful. They basically referred me back to the same confusing *** municipal codes on their website. Fortunately for them, I'm just getting general information about zoning at a particular property, no specific questions (yet).

There's a silver lining in all of this: poring through those zoning provisions and whatnot gave me a better understanding of zoning laws in general. Sometimes teaching yourself is the best way to go.

Learning about zoning is arduous, to say the least. Poring through local municipal codes is a painstaking task and I still don't thoroughly understand it. So, does anybody know of any good resources to understand zoning more in depth? Good websites with good explanations of terms? Perhaps a solid book that breaks it down?

I think the most sure-fire way to generate cash-flow in California is through apartment buildings. The flipping market is dead. Sure, you could get some cheap property but you're not going to be able to quickly flip that property to the sum of a handsome profit (in most cases). The rental market, especially in popular, coastal areas, is as strong as its ever been. The key is to find under utilized and poorly managed properties and manage them correctly to optimize cash flow and property values. There's some leg work to be had, but its cut-and-dry, not speculative. As a mathematically minded person, that's what I look for.

No experience yet but I'm very interested as well. You have to set up a self-directed IRA which will essentially become a separate entity from yourself when you buy property with it. I won't go into much more detail than that since I haven't done it yet but I think its a great move.

To sort of echo others, I thought "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" was a good book, but an introductory book to a way of life to which many aren't privy. I also enjoyed one of the "Rich Dad's Advisor's" books titiled "The ABC's of Real Estate Investing." While not terribly detailed, I believe it serves as a decent reference or starting point for someone jumping (or thinking about jumping) into real estate investing.

And I've never been to any of his seminars. I can't imagine them being worth the money.

Has anyone had success creating storage spaces at their apartment complexes? I'm looking to possibly convert unused garage space at one of my apartments into storage space. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.