Take a look at this listing on Silver Ridge in Silver Lake: http://takesunset.com/2013/03/2338-silver-ridge-avenue-in-silver-lake/ Absolutely beautiful example of modernist design in an A+ location. So, why am I complaining about it? Take a look at those rents. They’re getting $2595 each, which implies they were rented pretty recently (if they’d been rented more than a year … Continue reading “Here’s a bad selling strategy”
Category: Selling
Deadlines and documents
When we write offers for apartment buildings, we usually want a 17-21 day loan contingency. The concept is to give us some assurance that we will be able to get the loan we want before we irrevocably commit to doing the deal. Pretty standard. But lately, I’ve been running into the same problem over and over … Continue reading “Deadlines and documents”
How much is my apartment building worth?
The short answer is, if it’s in Los Angeles, its probably worth more now than it has ever been worth in the past. Why? Because everyone with cash and a brain is sick of getting 0.01% interest in his/her checking account and is therefore chasing yield by buying buildings, because even a so-so deal on … Continue reading “How much is my apartment building worth?”
Micheltorena is sold
A few days ago we closed the sale of 1516 Micheltorena, an 8 unit building in Silver Lake. Here are the relevant numbers: Bought for $954k in September 2010 Renovated for $645k Total capital outlay of $1.6MM Stabilized rent roll of $215k / year Took roughly $200k in cash out of the building while we … Continue reading “Micheltorena is sold”
Why a quiet marketing period makes sense
When it comes down to it, most brokers who sell residential properties don’t know a lot about marketing income property. (One easy way you can tell is that most of them don’t include information that is absolutely critical to an income property investor – like the rents! – in their MLS listings.) But why does … Continue reading “Why a quiet marketing period makes sense”
More on the state of the apartment market
This is a verbatim quote from an email from an agent listing an apartment building in a nice part of the Valley: “Yes, it is available, but seller is now asking $50k over listing price. Need an offer all cash at listing price or above no contingencies. That is the only way.” I’m keeping the … Continue reading “More on the state of the apartment market”
How not to price your building
[Note: I wrote this piece a long time ago but couldn’t post it until now, because I didn’t want to screw up a potential deal in progress.] Am helping a couple who are looking to buy an apartment building for roughly $1MM, all cash. Surprisingly, there’s not a lot out there. I did manage to … Continue reading “How not to price your building”
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”
Westmoreland = sold
Remember 1239 N. Westmoreland? We put up for sale on the MLS on April 17 for $949,000. On May 19, just over a month later, we closed for $950,000. After selling costs, we netted $920,000 or so. We bought the property and renovated it in 2009 for a total investment of $680,000. During the time we … Continue reading “Westmoreland = sold”
Why choosing a good listing broker matters
Some people have the impression that who your listing (selling) broker is doesn’t matter that much. After all, whoever it is is going to put the property up on the MLS, maybe have an open house or two, and then collect offers. Who cares how knowledgeable that person is? Why not just hire your cousin … Continue reading “Why choosing a good listing broker matters”