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”
Category: Buying
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”
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”
Why you should get pre-approved for a loan
Say you decided to sell your building and I offered to buy it. Say I offered you the following deal: I’ll buy your building for $1MM, but first I want you to guarantee you won’t sell it to anyone else for the next 45 days while I get the money together. You would be an … Continue reading “Why you should get pre-approved for a loan”
OK, I want to buy a building. What do I do first?
Call me. J/k. Sort of. The first thing you need to do is take stock of your current position. Here is what you need to get started: A decent credit score. FHA will loan down to a 580 score, but ideally you’d be north of 700. A stable work history. The ideal loan applicant would … Continue reading “OK, I want to buy a building. What do I do first?”
How much cash do you need to buy your first apartment building?
Not much, especially if you don’t already own real estate. The federal government has a program called the FHA which provides banks with insurance in case a borrower defaults on his mortgage. Because of this insurance, banks are willing to loan up to 96.5% of the cost of a 2-4 unit building, as long as … Continue reading “How much cash do you need to buy your first apartment building?”
Why I write this blog
You might be wondering: Why does this guy spend so much time writing about apartment buildings? I think the financial crisis of the past few years has changed something fundamental about the relationship between young people and real estate, and I want to try to both explain that change, and help shape it and move … Continue reading “Why I write this blog”
Silver Lake Income Properties In High Demand
We’ve just completed a review of the data for sales of 2-4 unit income properties in Silver Lake over the past six months. For more on the methodology, please see below. Meanwhile, here are the headline numbers: Median estimated gross rent multiple: 12.7x annual rents Median estimated CAP rate: 5.5% Median sale price as % … Continue reading “Silver Lake Income Properties In High Demand”