Do houses make good rental properties?

Question: “I live in University City and the house next door just came up for sale for $900,000. Do you think that would make a good rental?” Answer: Maybe. While I do own one rental house, I’ve found that less expensive condos and houses, as well as 2-4 unit properties, make better investments. However, since
Read more
No Comments

How do I sell my rental property if I still have tenants?

Question: “I’d like to have you handle the sale of my rental house.  We told the tenant there would be no lockbox and the home would be shown with 24 hour notice during business hours…” Answer: Let me stop you right there before you cost yourself any more time and money. In theory we’d like
Read more
No Comments

Refinancing Home Loans to Avoid Disaster Later

Question: “On my house and four rentals I have all adjustable mortgages and everything is going great. The rates vary from 2.5% to 3.5% and you can’t touch rates like that on fixed rates.” Answer: You didn’t ask, but I’m going to give you some advice. The conventional wisdom is that rates will go up
Read more
No Comments

Avoiding Big Taxes When Selling Your San Diego Rental

Question: “Hi Gary. I’m not sure what to do. I want to sell my rental house in UC, but am facing a big potential tax bill. You’d said it’s worth about $800,000 and I paid $150,000 for it. As we discussed, I do have some interest in buying a home here in the Bay Area
Read more
No Comments

Buying a Home w/ Payment No Bigger Than Your Rent

Question: “Is it a realistic target to want to buy a home and keep my payment no greater than the rent I’m paying now?” Answer: I don’t know your current rent, your down payment, or what you want in a home to answer for your specific situation. But I can say it’s tough to buy
Read more
No Comments

Should You Sell Your Rental to Your Tenant?

Question: “Hi Gary. I want to sell my rental and my tenant is interested in buying. Can you handle that for me?” Answer: Yes, I’d be happy to. But first, excuse me if I’m a Negative Nancy or, if you’re a Saturday Night Live fan, Debbie Downer. In my 30 years selling homes for clients,
Read more
No Comments

Showings with Tenants in Multi-Unit Properties

Question: “Hi Gary. I want to sell my triplex and was wondering how you handle showings with the tenants?” Answer: Typically, once you move from single family to multiple units, the showings are handled as “show with offer.” This is done for two reasons: Out of fear that if the tenant knew the property was
Read more
No Comments

Funding Your Residential Rental Purchase

Question: “I have several rentals and want to buy another property, perhaps a little house. I’d like to come up with as little cash as possible. What do I need to put down?” Answer: To buy a residential rental, you’ll need at least 20-25% down, plus closing costs of around 3%. But here’s a good
Read more
No Comments

Should You Handle Evictions Yourself or Hire a Lawyer?

Question: “I have a tenant who’s not paying the rent. Do you think I should handle the eviction myself or hire a lawyer?” Answer: Hire an attorney. Landlord/tenant law in California is very much skewed in the tenant’s favor. If you try to handle the eviction and make the tiniest mistake, your entire eviction could
Read more
No Comments

Buying One Rental with Cash vs. More with Mortgages

Question: “Do you think it’s smarter to buy one rental property for cash, or buy 2-3 with mortgages?” Answer: Yours is a good question about risk and leverage. Let’s look at some things you can do with $250,000: Example #1 – Bad $250,000 can buy you a $250,000 CD that pays you 1%. No leverage,
Read more
No Comments