All Forum Posts by: Travis Moe

Greetings!

First - all due respect, thanks, and apologies to @Dutch H. as he appears to be the organizer here and I am probably about to hijack his thread.

Second -I just created a new meetup event for the CV area. I made it for the same general time/days but moved the location. I'm just too pathologically lazy far away to commit to the drive up to Palm Springs to make the meetup at Koffi. 

Third - I'm really committing to consistency because I'd very much like to be less mind-numbingly introverted meet regularly with people who share a love of real estate. Like all of you, I'm so terribly busy playing video games and watching Game of Thrones with family and work that I have to plan events in advance to have any chance of making them. Not knowing whether or not any sort of event might happen usually made it impossible for me to attend. Basically, I'm promising to go to my own event because I am terrified nobody will show placing faith in the "build it and they will come" method of promotion.

Fourth - Aiming for informality and levity, as you can probably tell, but want this to be a resource for anybody passionate about real estate

Hi, All!

I wanted to set up a consistent meetup for BP members and any other local area real estate fans to get together to network and discuss their ideas. I'm angling for something centrally located in the area so that east-enders like me can more easily attend and anybody coming down from the High Desert can have easy access.

To that end, I'll be at the Starbucks at Cook and Gerald Ford on Thursday, June 27th from 6p-7p. That location isn't huge, but I think it'll work as it's both central and immediately off the 10. That Starbucks is open until 7:30p so starting on time is probably a good idea.

Like so much in Real Estate, consistency is key. So I'm committing to being at that Starbucks once a month so I can meet people, make some connections, and learn from others' experiences. I hope you'll join me and spread the word.

I can recommend @Corey Clarkston with Saint Johns Properties in Jacksonville.

Here's a very brief, and very incomplete, summary of the various STR ordinances around the Coachella Valley. Use it as a jumping off point for your research about where to invest. Apologies, but I don't know how to insert links to files, so images will have to do.

I've used the Hot Grader at Rented.com to estimate some STR income - but that is not for self-managed STRs - and I found it fairly accurate but it was for my units in Jacksonville, FL - not the CV. Your mileage may vary.

Happy Hunting

@Stella Guan

I'm local to the area. I only own one rental locally. It cashflows, but I bought it 10 years ago. For cashflow, I'm buying out of state. 

However, plenty of investors are successfully buying cashflowing rentals out here. You mentioned vacation rentals - for that, you have to be very careful. The various cities out here each have their own regulations restricting STRs and those regulations can and do change relatively abruptly. For example, Palm Desert is sunsetting all existing licenses for STRs at the end of this year for homes that are not your primary residence or located in a R1 or R2 zone. Palm Springs, restricted the total number of stays you can host to 38 per year (I think). La Quinta, on the other hand has few if any regulations city wide, but all the HOAs usually severely restrict STRs and those HOA rules can change even month to month.

There's a local STR pro that buys large, luxury homes and rents them STR as event homes for the Festivals, Tennis tourney, weddings, etc. @John D. might be somebody to reach out to for insight. His is a successful strategy. 

I agree with @Ryan Robbins

I was in contract on a couple of SFRs West of Cassat earlier this year. The amount of new construction in the area was interfering with my ability to get a good idea of both ARV and potential rent. On the one hand, the new construction could help reinvigorate values. On the other hand, it could increase unit supply, dropping the rents I could pull in.

I waived off due to the uncertainty. Not impossible, just a greater degree of diligence is probably a good idea.

I have my first, legitimately strong lead after months of driving for dollars and I'm seeking ideas on how to structure an offer. There isn't a lot of value-add opportunity, but the seller is motivated. I'll try to be concise.

• ARV = 235K
• As is value = 225K
• Rehab needed < 10K (mostly yardwork)
• Seller's motivation:
  • Seller is 90 years old
  • Fell ill over a year ago
  • Moved into senior care facility, but kept utilities on thinking she'd eventually move back. Now knows this won't ever happen. 
  • Property is structurally solid, built in 1980. Hasn't been updated much, but is an eyesore from complete lack of yard care
  • Has lots of stuff inside she can't deal with
  • Would really like funds to offset some cost of her senior facility
  • Owns house free and clear
• Would rent for approx 1,500/m once fixed up
• I'd rather wholetail it, though.

This is just screaming seller finance to me. 

I want to offer her something like 155K, OWC, 20% down, 5.5% interest for 15 years. That'd get her about $950/m in income on top of 30K down without having to manage tenants. I'll offer to include the cost of moving her stuff (ave cost local move is 2,300) to a storage facility of her choice in town. 

I'd be able to rent it and cash flow if I wanted to, but I'd rather wholetail it. If I can get it for 155K on an as is value of 225K, that seems like it would work out to about $40K at the end. Average days on market is about 75 days in the area.

What do all you seasoned experts think? What am I missing? Ways to make an offer really stand out?

@Sebastian Dombrowski

I recommend investing anywhere your numbers work. That is, if it's a deal, then it's a deal and if it fits in with your strategy and goals, then you try to buy it. @David Greene, @Alexander Felice, and others have helped me understand that you live where you want to live and buy where it makes sense to buy if they're not the same place. 

There are many buy and hold investors making it work in the CV - so it is possible. One BP member, @John D., has an interesting strategy of buying larger, higher-end homes, adding rooms and amenities and then renting them out as short term rentals - especially for events like Coachella/Stagecoach or the BNP Paribas Tennis Tournaments. You may want to reach out to him. 

Like those successful buy and hold investors, I see potential deals all the time. Regrettably, I lack a sufficient war chest, for buying at the price points most of the rentals are going for in the CV. I chose Jacksonville, FL for a number of reasons, but the price-to-rent ratio was chief in my analysis.

I hope that answers your question!

@Sebastian Dombrowski

Also consider that much of the undeveloped land ina and around the CV is Native American land. Particularly in Palm Springs, you can see the checkerboard pattern of the way the reservations were established. Not that these lots cannot be developed, but it isn’t the same as just a bunch or raw land or old, unused ranch/farmland.

@Pandu Chimata

La Quinta now has the Ironman Triathlon. LQ and Indio also have numerous horse shows several times per year. They happen at both the polo fields and put near the JC airport in Coachella/Thermal.

Modernism Week (not usually in the summer) is getting bigger and bigger and drawing in more people.