All Forum Posts by: Uyenchi Ho

Hello my BP community,

Does anyone know what the going rate is for an onsite property manager for a 20-unit complex in the Stockton area?  I'm interested in a 20-unit property in San Joaquin county, and I plan to do most of the management myself.  However, because California law requires an on-site property manager for property with 16 or more units, I plan to have one per the law and have this manager perform general maintenance work.  (There is currently an on-site manager, but I can't get any answers from her, so I may have to bring in my own if I buy this property.)  Thank you so much for your thoughts and insights.

I agree with your accountant and with Greg S. 100%. I work for a litigation law firm, and based on my experience, when an LLC gets sued, the individual is also named a defendant 100% of the time. The plaintiff never just sues the LLC.

Yes, the LLC does give you certain protection, but the best protection is to have enough insurance coverage. When the clients have insurance coverage, we send our legal bills directly to the insurance company, and when it's time to settle a lawsuit, we almost always based the number on the amount of coverage.

My husband and I have also discussed forming an LLC for our rentals, but we've decided to wait until we accrue more units and bring in more rental income... as advised by your accountant.

Hello!

Does anyone know of any Airbnb and/or Flipkey restrictions in Lake Tahoe?

My husband and I are looking to buy a vacation rental in Lake Tahoe, and while we're not using it, we plan to rent it out on Airbnb and Flipkey.  

Does anyone have any experience hosting a rental property through Airbnb and Flipkey and would like to share your experiences - either good or bad?  And for the bad experiences, how did you resolve those issues?

Thank you so much!

Oh yes, and both my husband and I will keep our day jobs so our income should be no problem, but we definitely do not want to buy anything that has negative cash flow.  

Hi Minh,

I meant to respond to your message to me, but I was pulled so many directions (including the week-long Lunar New Year that my family tends to enjoy).  Sorry I missed you at the last meet up.  

Would you mind explaining to me what "DSCR of 1.25" mean? Thanks :-)

Thanks for the advice!  I guess when I wrote 20% down, what I wanted to get across was that I'm not a cash buyer.  But based on what you wrote, looks like I will be sticking to a fourplex for now.

My husband and I are discussing our options: 

1) sell our current house, which we are sure to get at least $400,000 in profit (after commission and closing costs) since our loan balance on it is very low.  We would move into our smaller property which is currently a rental, but we own it free and clear so no mortgage.  So we should have about $500,000 to use towards a down payment on the fourplex.  BUT if you ask my husband, he would only want to put down $250,000 - $300,000.

2) cont. living in our current house and keep the rental (which is cash flowing about $1,700 a month), and either buy another SFH to rent out or rent out our current house, which should cash flow of about $1,000 a month, and buy another SFH to live in.

So for me, good is a fourplex (preferably 2/1 each unit or at least 2 units being 2/1).  I need it to have positive cash flow even with only 25% down.  Transitional neighborhood is best where rent can be increased quickly.

Thanks, Minh!   

I'm looking for a multifamily (4-8 units) in San Jose, California (or nearby cities).  As long as there are no foundational damages, fixer-uppers are preferred since we can go in and add value ourselves.  Need to be in a good location.  We will use traditional financing (20% down with regular bank loan).  If you have anything good, please send it our way.

Thanks!

I started out this REI venture with the intention of wholesaling. It was an invaluable experience because I was given insight into how to acquire properties not listed on MLS. I had to negotiate with sellers who wanted to sell their properties for cash, and I've met many wonderful cash buyers who were generous with helping me learn how to evaluate properties. Even though my husband and I own properties as accidental landlords (we held on to properties that were our primary residences), I wanted to try wholesaling as a way to get my toes wet in learning by experience how to actively invest in real estate. In a very short amount of time, I've learned so much about the industry and, more importantly, myself as an investor (what I'm comfortable with, good at, and would enjoy doing). So after many nights (and days) discussing with my husband, we've decided that since our goal is to own multiplexes, wholesaling no longer fits into our business plan. Since we have enough capital to buy a 4 to 8-unit plex, we will now concentrate on finding that gem. I will let you know how that goes.

Anyway - at the risk of posting this here instead of the "Marketplace", although I'm not even sure if that applies -  when I started this journey less than 2 months ago, I bought many great resources to accelerate my wholesaling business, which I no longer need. Without those resources, I wouldn’t even know where to start. If any newbie wholesaler who is looking into resources to help them get a strong start in their wholesaling business, please email me at UCREsolutions.com since I may have something you may be interested in.

Thanks and take care!

Turns out meet-up day before V-Day is not an issue, nor is Friday the 13th, but Friday night before Lunar New Year week is.  I have to pick up the kids from school and watch them now that the husband is running around town getting ready for tonight's family pre-new year event.  Major bummer.  So I'm flaking out.  Next time.  Happy Valentine's Day, Happy President's Day, and Happy early Lunar New Year!!!

I will be there early tonight (bw 6:00 - 6:30 pm) - so hopefully some will be there early as well.  Since my family is starting our week-long Lunar New Year partying and gambling tonight, I will have to leave early to not miss out on the festivity.  

Don't spend much money on a website.  Godaddy often have discount, and I've recently opened an account with Wordpress through Godaddy for $1 a month.  So I paid $12 for the entire year.  I was lucky to have my husband set it up for me, but you can do it yourself if you're not completely technologically challenged like myself.  Even so, I've only had 1 person submitted a form through my site, and that was because he received my direct mailer.  Honestly, I don't think it really would have mattered whether you have a website at this point.  

I would advice you spend a few bucks on having some basic business cards made. You will want to go to your local REI clubs, and having business cards build credibility with other investors.

Also, a great free resource is your local title company.  Before I even sent out my first mailer, I went to a local First American Title company, and they set up for me a MyFirstAm account where I can look up owners, property profile, etc.  I use it on a daily basis.  All absolutely free.  All they ask from you is to bring them title insurance work.  It's a great partnership.

Good luck!