All Forum Posts by: Yang Zhang

Around 60% of new restaurants in the US fail within the 1st year. Why Do They Fail? Come and join us for our next ULI Pittsburgh Young Leaders Group (YLG) event on Wednesday, Feb 23 2022. We invited RE360 founder Joe Calloway to share his unique insight on the economics of owning a restaurant, and why it is sometimes better to be a real estate owner.

Door opens at 4pm, snacks and drink will be provided.

Date: Wed, Feb 23 2022, 4pm-5:30pm EST

Where: Arlington Beverage Club , 1226 Arlington Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15210

Register Now

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/u...

@Scott Choppin

Sorry for the late reply. I am attaching the site information as well as my plan. Rm-4 is a residential zone with the following parameter:

- max height: 35 ft

- max residential density: 1100 sqft/unit

- set back: 15 ft (front), 15ft (rear), 4ft (side)

- parking: 1:1

I have decided to provide 1 affordable unit in order to make use of the State's density bonus. The 900 sqft existing commercial building will be converted into a work/live unit (not counting towards residential density), while the density bonus would allow me to go up to 9 units, making it 10 in total (1 work/live + 9 unit new residential).

My original plan was to do traditional multifamily development, focus on best yield for the local rental market in Oakland (smaller unit sizes, mostly studio, 1b and 2b). I recently came across this wonderful project:

https://casestudies.uli.org/oslo-washington-dc/

https://www.oslo-dc.com/

I think the co-living model might fit perfect for my site and I'm currently exploring this option with my architect and local co-living operators. 

Love to hear what your thoughts on this "co-living" style development (larger units, 4-5 bedrooms, more bathrooms).  What do you think would be the biggest challenge I might face down the road (e.g. getting financing from the bank, etc.)? Thanks!

Yang

@Scott Choppin, thank for creating this whole conversation! Great idea. Here is what I am working on: 

The SITE:

6,250 sqft lot (zoned RM-4) in North California, with an existing commercial building (900 sqft)

The PLAN:

a.Convert the existing 900 sqft into a work/live unit (does not count towards residential density)

b. Build an additional 9-unit multifamily apartment (with 1 affordable unit, taking advantage of local density bonus).

The STRATEGY:

The site is located at an up-and-coming area in Northern California. It's 2 blocks away from one of the largest upcoming local development site (126 units of townhome new construction, for sale). My strategy with the multifamily apartment (mixture of studio, 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom) is going for the rental path, instead of the condo for-sale route. However, I do plan to work with the surveyor to put a TPM on the units and include it in the plan for zoning approval, therefore we have the flexibility to convert them to condos down the road.

Possible exit strategies:

- Option A: Entitle + sell the entitlement right to the next developer

- Option B: Entitle + partner with local builder/developer to build the project.

I understand every market is different, but love to hear folk's opinion on what are possible things I should pay more attention to. This is my first development project - I started my real estate journey with investing - so definitely a newbie developer. 

@John Korn mind sharing the contact info of that local Pittsburgh company you contacted?

Need an electrician for the same purpose, property is at 15212. Any good recommendations, folks?

@Dillon Loomis I actually pass by Erie the other when I drove from Pittsburgh -> Toronto! Stop by for a coffee at a local coffee shop. 

To answer your question, I first picked the market of Pittsburgh, then decide strategy on each property. Some work better with conventional loans, some can do BRRRR. It depends on what you are getting I guess.

@Alice K. many thanks for the advice! 

By the way, I think I remember you. We met at a local event in SF Chinatown library :)

Hey@Neil Metzger awesome! Sure, love to talk more.

@Chris Pasternak thank you! Will PM you.

Hello folks! 

Thanks so much for all the valuable suggestions! Thank all you guys so so much. It's been very helpful. I really had no idea before but now definitely got so many good ideas.

Sorry that I did not include all the necessary information, here we go:

- the bottom unit is currently on month-to-month lease

- the rehab needed is fairly basic (at least from my observation)

- the property is located in PA, so cold winter for sure :(

The challenge is I live in California and may need to rely on my property manager to handle the tenant turn-over. I definitely like the idea of raising the rent on the bottom unit by a slight amount (with honest explanation to the tenants), rent out the top unit ASAP, then figure out a better solution, e.g. doing renovation on the bottom unit before further raising rent.

Thanks a lot :) 

Yang