Every time I help someone buy an apartment building, we get to a moment where we need to figure out what our “best and final” offer will be. Literally 100% of the time, my client asks me what I think it should be. And this is maybe the one question in the entire process I … Continue reading “How to decide what to offer”
Category: Buying
Do I see any good deals?
Recently, people keep asking me if I see any good repositioning / flip deals to do. And my answer boils down to this: Yes, but only for certain types of investors. Here’s what I mean: Right now, prices for apartment buildings, especially small apartment buildings, are high and rising. A year ago, you could buy … Continue reading “Do I see any good deals?”
FHA Opportunity
Are you interested in taking down a 4plex in gentrifying Highland Park on a 13,000 sq ft. lot using an FHA loan and earning a pretty ridiculous return? Perhaps you should have been on my mailing list when I sent out just such an opportunity today. Feel cheated? If you sign up now, I’ll send … Continue reading “FHA Opportunity”
Why you get the rents buttoned-up BEFORE listing a property
Recently, I closed on a deal where the seller inflated the rents in the marketing materials. It was an unpleasant experience for everyone involved, including the buyer, seller, agents and tenants. Here’s what happened: One of the tenants had applied to the landlord for permission to move a new occupant into his unit. Per LA … Continue reading “Why you get the rents buttoned-up BEFORE listing a property”
Why writers should own apartment buildings
At first glance, the title above seems pretty crazy, right? After all, writers are creative types. They spend their days conjuring stories from thin air to delight the public. Why should people like that be involved in the nitty-gritty of owning and managing apartments? Like many things in life, it comes down to money. Writers, … Continue reading “Why writers should own apartment buildings”
Got cash? Larger buildings are better than smaller ones
Right now, if you have the cash to put down a big downpayment, you’re almost certainly better off buying a larger complex versus a smaller one if the prices are the same.* Why? Like almost everything else in real estate, it comes down to interest rates, affect the market in two discrete ways right now: … Continue reading “Got cash? Larger buildings are better than smaller ones”
Are LA apartment building prices entering a bubble?
Recently, prices for apartment buildings in Los Angeles have been increasing rapidly. 12 months ago, you could find buildings in improving neighborhoods for less than 10x annual gross rents. Now, the range is more like 10.5-11.5x for larger buildings and up to 14x for smaller buildings. Inventory in all asset sizes is also very slim … Continue reading “Are LA apartment building prices entering a bubble?”
Buy what nobody wants
Am up to my neck in deals right now, which I’m not complaining about at all. So today’s post is going to be short and sweet. I want to impart an idea about investing, in general, and real estate investing, in specific: Buy what nobody else wants right now. By definition, if no one wants … Continue reading “Buy what nobody wants”
Passive real estate investing part 3: Funds
We’ve previously discussed why active real estate investing can be challenging for individual investors here. And then we talked about investing in syndicated deals. This post is about investing in real estate funds, also called “blind pools”. The kind of funds we’re interested in today don’t start out owning any properties (the ones that do … Continue reading “Passive real estate investing part 3: Funds”
How to invest in real estate passively (part 1)
A few people have asked me recently how you can invest in real estate without doing it full time. It’s a good question, because, as a part-timer, you are competing with other investors who have some built-in advantages, including: Ability to buy all-cash and close quickly A network of brokers who funnel the best deals … Continue reading “How to invest in real estate passively (part 1)”