Here’s a lesson about brokering that they never teach you in real estate classes: Don’t let the buyer and seller speak to each other directly, if you can prevent it. Why? First, consider this law of human interaction: No one instinctively likes everyone he/she meets. It’s just a fact of life that we sometimes run across … Continue reading “Why you separate buyer and seller”
Category: Brokerage
Why the diligence matters
Yesterday, the LA Times had an absolutely horrific story about a couple who bought a duplex and then got slammed by LADBS. Here’s the piece. How could this poor couple have avoided the pickle they’re in? 1. Foundation inspection. The retaining wall issue in the back would have been apparent to anyone who does a … Continue reading “Why the diligence matters”
Why I love Mid City
Let’s be clear about what I mean by Mid-City: Everything north of the 10, east of La Cienega, south of Wilshire, and west of Western. Why do I love it? Because: 1. It’s central: The area I just described is roughly 10-15 minutes by car from all of the jobs on the Westside (in Beverly Hills, … Continue reading “Why I love Mid City”
Adaptive Realty, Inc. coming along quite nicely
Regular readers know that Adaptive does a bunch of different things. We run investment funds, do fee-for-service development, manage property, and broker deals. When we started Adaptive, the “brokering deals” part was just me. Now, we have a well-trained team of agents who are helping investors and owner-users do sensible apartment deals in the gentrifying … Continue reading “Adaptive Realty, Inc. coming along quite nicely”
1142 N. Virgil, sold
This triplex sale closed a while ago, but thought the numbers might interest you. Price was $701,000. Property was a newly-renovated triplex, with three 1/1s, each with parking and outdoor space. Estimated square footage was 1,800. Rents were $1700, $1600 and vacant. My estimate of the achievable rent on the vacant unit was $1800, all … Continue reading “1142 N. Virgil, sold”
Getting to know the brokers
I do a large number of relatively small deals. I do this because that’s the part of the market where there a mis-priced / poorly managed assets that present opportunities for me and my investors to make money. The downside is that I end up doing a lot of deals with brokers I’ve never met. … Continue reading “Getting to know the brokers”
A testimonial
One of my agents, Bana Haffar, just closed a very difficult deal on a 4plex in Mid City for one of our clients, a very successful, busy guy who was looking to lock in a great interest rate on an income property in a gentrifying part of LA. Thought you might be interested in the … Continue reading “A testimonial”
Sell it vacant
If you have a beat-up, rent controlled building that you’re considering selling and a vacancy opens up, DON’T FILL IT. Here’s why: Unless you spend a lot of money fixing up the building before you rent it, you’re not going to get top dollar from the new tenant; So, you’re going to have someone in … Continue reading “Sell it vacant”
When do you need a lawyer?
I spend an awful lot of time negotiating relatively small/low value agreements with other agents, tenants, owners, etc. Pretty often, I find myself drafting contract language, because the matter at hand is small enough that its not worth spending thousands of dollars on a lawyer. That’s obviously ok for my own deals. After all, I … Continue reading “When do you need a lawyer?”
The tenants are important
“When you’re buying a rent controlled building,” I said to the buyer during an inspection yesterday, “the tenants are at least as important as the physical condition of the building.” This is kind of counter-intuitive, right? After all, tenants come and go, but you plan to own the building for a long time. But, under … Continue reading “The tenants are important”