All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

It might be coming from the buyers, but not because they were thinking of a great investment. The HOA dues at the W are VERY high and would make it a bad investment anyway you look at it. This is a pure purchase for lifestyle and rapport if you can afford it. With that said, the first buyers should have been a bit more careful with their spending. A person who spends $3-$4M on a condo is expected to have some sort of understanding in real estate or at least surround him/herself with professional who are top-of-the-line experts. Unfortunately greed will always exist somewhere and there will always be someways to take the fall for it.

Jon, I am thinking the exact same thing and comparing Hollywood today to Manhattan of the early 90's when you could buy a condo for $200k that will sell today for $1.5M. The amount of population growth in Los Angeles is one of the highest in the nation and with more and more luxury projects swooping this side of town I have no doubt that owning a property in Hollywood would turn out as a great long term investment once the economy is back on track. I am now in escrow on a condo for myself in West Hollywood that I got a great deal on but I had to beat 9 other offers and that is the number I hear all the time from other agents. Those great deals will soon be gone as the demand here is just getting bigger and bigger.

Haha Nick, I wouldn't say it's that bad!!

Hollywood has been improving tremendously in the past two decades. Since the building of the Hollywood & Highland center real estate has only gone up and many new luxury condominium developments have started to appear stretching out eastward.

Without looking up statistics, but from my personal observation, I would say that the crime in Hollywood is mainly committed by people from other places i.e Compton etc... and a combination of a thriving night life which unfortunately involves drug trading.

I was actually robbed once at gun point about 4 years ago when coming out from a club and walking to an after party after 2am... With that said I do not feel afraid or threatened at night time or anytime in Hollywood.

Another factor that makes the condominium market in Hollywood a bit unbalanced is that there are not many condominiums compared to apartments. The rental market in Hollywood is much more dominant and predictable. When I saw Chad Roger selling a penthouse at the W for $5M on Million Dollar Listing I thought it was a very sad joke. I would have never advised something like that to a client - it was practically money going down the drain.

Yay! thank you Jon! I was struggling with that a little...

I received this research article (about the W hotel and real estate in general in Hollywood) in the mail today. I wonder what triggered this to be sent to agents in Hollywood. I guess some of us are not doing our job right (not me!)

Anyways, it is pretty interesting to read even if you are not from LA...

Check it out the full article at this link -

http://tyjoseph.com/documents/hollywood_research.pdf

Have a great weekend!

I know many buyers who are looking for a conventional limited documentation loan and are having difficulties finding one. In this day and age these types of loans with respect to conventional institutions are very scarce and hard to obtain. I did however, managed to find one program that worked very well for me in two transactions. Unfortunately since last year this program tightened up a bit and showing signs of becoming a very hard bargain. The lender in this case is East West Bank that currently still offers a stated income programs.

The two programs I used in 2011 are 3yr ARM 30yr @ 5.125% with a minimum of 35% down payment. The only requirement was a credit score of at least 720 and of course having at least 35% of appraised value. This could be used for owner occupied or an investment property. No tax return or employment verification were required. The lender fee for this loan was $900 per transaction and no points. Since the beginning of the new year EWB tightened the requirement for the down payment to 50% from what I heard but not verified. They also capped the number of loans per borrower to two.

Although not perfect, this would be the only conventional stated income loan program that I know of (in southern California). If you are looking for this type of loan contact East West Bank directly and they will have all the up-to-date information. I am always looking for creative ways to help my clients bypass the strict guidelines of federal backed lenders. If you know about more conventional lenders that offer limited documentation programs, please post about it here for me and other readers to see.

Lynn, in the standard contracts that I use in California it states that if a problem is caused because the tenant neglects to report it in a timely manner than it becomes the tenant's responsibility. This is something you should verbally mention to every new tenant. Also, I would add that I check in with my tenants every so often and ask if everything is alright and in working order. Good communication is also a key factor.

I use Quickbooks, not just for my rental properties nut for all my business activities. Although Quickbooks is not really customized for rental properties, it is a straightforward accounting program that will allow you to follow any investments or business activities.

LaRhonda, of course I am not fully familiar with your situation but here is another option I would recommend for you to consider -

You seem to be eager to get involve in real estate and I think it is great! because you are still young and looking to grow with your career, income and relationship I suggest that you consider buying an income property BY YOURSELF. You can either buy a house or a condo and depends on you area, you can make between 7%-12% return. In the meanwhile you can still rent with, or without your boyfriend and most importantly feel independent.

You should consult a real estate agent that owns investment properties in your area. Ask them about their experience and what they recommend. Also think what would be the best option for your relationship.

Good luck!

There is a great way to avoid situations like this one which I always use. Put in the contract that small fixes up to $50 or $100 (depends on the property), are the responsibility of the tenant. I promise you you will never hear about shower heads, toilet lids, lighting, faucet, etc... ever again!