My voice was quivering when I made my final plea: “Please, Mr. X, just take the $5,000 and move out before the sheriff gets here.” The guy refused. He and his wife stayed right up until the sheriff arrived to lock him out of the apartment. I had to appreciate the pride he carried within … Continue reading “The Time I Tried to Give Mr. X $5,000 and He Refused”
Author: Moses Kagan
How to keep the IRS from stealing your sh*t
Bad news: The government wants to take 50% of the profits from your building. Good news: Some nice legislator long, long ago stuffed the concept of depreciation into the tax code, keeping the tax man from succeeding. What’s “depreciation”? It’s a fake loss that allows you to use to reduce the amount of income you’re … Continue reading “How to keep the IRS from stealing your sh*t”
Don’t walk into a rent control trap
Here’s a dangerous trap set for an unsuspecting buyer of an apartment building by a broker: “Live in one unit and have additional income or use this 2800 s.f. structure as a single family residence.” Let’s say you want to choose the later option. Can you? Absolutely not. At least, not without paying between $20,000-40,000 … Continue reading “Don’t walk into a rent control trap”
Imagine Your Building Burned to the Ground
When I look at a new building to buy, I almost always start by imagining it burned to the ground. Am I some kind of psycho? No, I’m not (at, least, not that I know of). I imagine my building in ruins because it helps me focus on the most important aspect of any property: … Continue reading “Imagine Your Building Burned to the Ground”
The Best Money I’ve Ever Spent
Out of the $500,000 we spent rehabbing my latest apartment building (here are some pics), the most important thing we bought cost $300. What was it? Advice. We called in a great designer to pick colors for us. It took her 20 minutes of going through paint samples until she hit on the perfect combination … Continue reading “The Best Money I’ve Ever Spent”
Median Silver Lake 2 Bed-Apartment Blows Past $2,100 / Month
Renters and Landlords know that the Silver Lake rental market is hot… but they might not know how hot. The median asking rent for a 2 bedroom, 1 bath apartment in Silver Lake in January was $2,195 per month. Other interesting conclusions from the survey: Would you pay $250 per month for a … Continue reading “Median Silver Lake 2 Bed-Apartment Blows Past $2,100 / Month”
Income Property Teardown: 822 Sanborn in Silver Lake
Welcome to the “Teardown”, a series where I’ll take apart an income property listing and analyze it for the whole world to see. As always, all figures are estimates which you should not rely upon. Today’s subject is 822 Sanborn, Los Angeles, CA, 90029, listed by Keith Cox of Keller Williams, Beverly Hills. Here’s a … Continue reading “Income Property Teardown: 822 Sanborn in Silver Lake”
How to value an apartment building
If you’re reading this, I assume you’re more-than-a-little-bit interested in buying apartment buildings. But what to buy? Put another way: Of all the buildings on the market, which are the “good deals”? What’s a “good deal”? Apartment buildings aren’t like houses. You don’t buy them for the feng shui. You buy them because you place … Continue reading “How to value an apartment building”
From the Offer through Removing Contingencies
The advent of services like Redfin and Zillow have made everyone into a real estate genius. You can see what’s for sale, what’s sold, the comps, everything. Don’t let that make you think you know what you’re doing. You don’t. Buying real estate is really complicated. To get that wonderful property you see on Redfin, … Continue reading “From the Offer through Removing Contingencies”
Why you should NEVER release money to a seller prior to closing
If you learn nothing else from this post, learn this: Never release money from escrow to the seller prior to the closing. Let me tell you a story: On our first deal, my brother and I let an inexperienced broker talk us into offering to close in 30 days. 30 days is fine for a … Continue reading “Why you should NEVER release money to a seller prior to closing”