All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

This is a great way to get great deals and close them fast. Most conventional lenders will require six months of seasoning period. If you can wait that time or can find a better option I would say this is the way to go.

With direct mail marketing the best way to pinpoint and reach your prospects is to use the help of a title company. Title companies hold massive data bases that help identify exactly those who your marketing efforts are aimed for. It will cost some money to get this information, but if your going direct mail, it is money well spent

Yup auctions can look good at first glance but properties usually end up selling for 80%-85% at FMV if not more sometimes.

I understand... still sounds like a scam or something that about to go wrong.

You have a great day too!

James - I am a landlord.

It's not too much work, in fact, it looks like the least amount of work of all the other suggestions made here.

If a PASSIVE income of $800 a month (net) is enough for you (while you're going back to school, and I'm assuming you have other sources of income) then you can get it out of a $100k property that you'd purchase for cash.

In 5-6 years when the market will recover you'd be able to sell this property for 160k.

All you have to do is knowing how to find a good qualifying tenant that will pay you the rent every month.

On average I spend about 3 hours a month dealing with my 3 properties and my net income (from the properties) is $2,300 per month.

J is right and property tax assessment isn't a good way to asses the value of a property, because it could be (and usually is) relevant to previous years (like 2006) where the market was in a total different form than what it is now.

This reply is probably a bit late but judging by the information given here, this specific house is worth the min amount of 140k unless it went under some unusual disaster. Built in 1999 it wouldn't need too many repairs and upgrading. I doubt that it went for less than 140k. Let me know if I'm wrong...

Never heard of this type of scam but it definitely is one. You must be a licensed real estate agent in order to negotiate deals.

Yes Mehran, anything built after 78 isn't subject to rent control. Regardless, I would recommend investing in newer dwellings.

Hey Mehran,

I disagree with a few of the comments here, and I'm going to tell you my opinion about investing here in Los Angeles.

First of all if you plan to buy a small income property (like a fourplex) it would only make sense to buy something in an area close to you and that you're familiar with. Outsourcing management for such a property isn't cost effective and buying one in area you're not familiar with is risky.

The Valley is a great place to buy now. together with Long Beach it's the only place you can still find good deals in Los Angeles. Remember that California and Los Angeles are one of the fastest growing (population) areas in the country. For rentals this is one of the major facts you have to look at. When values are going to go up again your property is going to be worth a lot more and since people are going to have a harder time finding a place to live they're going to have to pay a lot more rent.

Regarding rent control. This is not always a bad thing. Might even be a great opportunity since the current value is under-market. I know many investors who took this opportunity and payed tenants to move out. They made a whole lot selling the property later when the income was at market value.

If you can't find a good deal on an income property you can also look at condos in the Vally - you can easily get a 9% return on condos. And when the market will go up the same will apply to those condos.

Good Luck!

How much is the membership? I use my broker's account...