[MK: You really, really can buy income properties with as little as 3.5% down through FHA loans. Interested? Read on.] We’ve spent so much time talking about FHA loans, I figured I’d bring in a pro. Meet Justin Brown of Nu Home Financial. Justin’s a loan broker who has recently done some very good work … Continue reading “All about FHA loans, with Justin Brown, loan broker”
Author: Moses Kagan
My problem
I have a problem: I find good deals every week but I don’t have the money to buy them all myself (even though I want to!). So my solution is to find like-minded people who want to own apartment buildings and help them buy the deals I find. But how do I find these wonderful … Continue reading “My problem”
What real estate success looks like
So far on this blog, we’ve spent most of our time talking about buying your first building. But what does the end-game look like? One thing to understand about real estate is that there’s literally no limit to how big you can get. If you’re disciplined about saving money and re-investing, you can keep growing … Continue reading “What real estate success looks like”
Mortgages: Borrowing to save
With a mortgage, you borrow to save. Sounds weird, right? Let’s take a look. Do you know what actually happens with a mortgage payment? Sure, you send it off to the bank each month (or, more likely, it’s deducted from your bank account automatically). But do you know what’s really going on? The easiest way … Continue reading “Mortgages: Borrowing to save”
Introduction to Los Angeles Zoning
Get it through your head: The land is important! Too many buyers don’t understand that the land component of a property is potentially it’s most important aspect. Why? Well, buildings all fall down in the long run. But land is unchanging and often has potential. What do I mean by potential? Well, in the absense … Continue reading “Introduction to Los Angeles Zoning”
Buying a single family home for investment purposes
Recently, I’ve had some people approach me about buying houses for investment purposes. The concept is simple: There are loads of people out there who either can’t or won’t buy a house right now. They choose to rent (hopefully from me!) instead. But there are lots of people trying to sell their houses… both individual … Continue reading “Buying a single family home for investment purposes”
What I want from this blog: a community
Right now, this blog is very much a one-way conversation: I write about income properties and you read about them. It’s kind of like this: But I want more. I want this to be the kind of place that like-minded people come to discuss Los Angeles real estate. I want it to be like a … Continue reading “What I want from this blog: a community”
The numbers are in: South of the 101 is better than Silver Lake
On the numbers alone, buying income property south of the 101 beats buying in Silver Lake. There, we said it. Before we get to the numbers, the area we’re talking about includes part of Westlake/Historic Filipino Town and the southern part of Echo Park. We’re going to call it…”South of the 101″. Here’s a map: Here’s … Continue reading “The numbers are in: South of the 101 is better than Silver Lake”
How to estimate what your property taxes will be
When you buy an apartment building, your two biggest costs will be your mortgage and your property taxes. It’s easy enough to estimate your what your mortgage payments will be (try this calculator)… but how do you estimate your property taxes? In California, we’re blessed with Proposition 13, which effectively limits your property taxes to … Continue reading “How to estimate what your property taxes will be”
1031 Exchange 101
The 1031 Exchange is one of the better things about investing in apartment buildings. It’s a section of the tax code which allows investors in investment property to defer capital gains taxes on property sold in exchange for re-investing the proceeds in more property. To understand why it’s such a powerful tax loophole, we need … Continue reading “1031 Exchange 101”