by Gagner | Apr 5, 2015 | Real Estate News, Uncategorized
Today, I would like to share a video that was just produced by Brett Jennings, who is both a friend and highly successful real estate broker in the Bay Area. Brett provides an easy to understand explanation about where the Bay Area real estate market has been recently and where it is headed in 2015. There are several dynamics that influence the direction of the market and help predict whether it is becoming “over-valued”. Given the pace of home appreciation over the past several years, it is reasonable to ask whether we are approaching another bubble. Brett provides information that helps us understand the answer to these and many other questions. Hope you enjoy his video!...
by Gagner | Feb 3, 2015 | Real Estate News
In our last video, we showed the placement of forms and rebar under our Berkeley Victorian house, where the original foundation had once existed. This new video shows the result of pouring the concrete foundation into the forms and then removing the forms after the concrete had cured. In addition, we have begun building the cripple walls above the new foundation/mudsill and below the girders and floor joists. We did this work along the length of both sides of the house, and now we will repeat the process at the front and back width of house and down the center length of the property. Some contractors may choose to lift the entire house to do the entire replacement at one time, but my contractor decided it was more economical to do it in two stages (probably because he would have had to subcontract out the lifting process. Hope you enjoy the progress on this Berkeley Victorian foundation...
by Gagner | Jan 18, 2015 | Real Estate News
Today, I would like to share a video of the foundation work being done on my Victorian home in Berkeley CA. This house was built in 1902 on a brick foundation. Although there were no major deficiencies in the foundation itself, we decided to replace it so that the buyer would have confidence in the foundation of our new renovation. This video captures how the house is being supported while the new foundation is being formed and eventually poured. In our case, we have supported two side of the house with large beams and 4×4 posts, while the original shear walls were removed. Next, forms were constructed to hold the vertical portions of the foundation structure, followed by rebar placed within the forms and base area. This is where the job stood at the time of the video. ...
by Webmaster | Jan 14, 2015 | Real Estate News
As mentioned in a previous blog, bandit signs can be a very effective way to get your phone to ring with potential home sellers. With that said, it is important to note that as the name implies, there are some legal risks in using bandit signs. Given the usefulness of this strategy, I believe it is worthy of an entire blog. A few basic items are worth noting. Less is better. That means that you want to make the message short and simple, so drivers can actually read it as they are driving by. Messages like “We buy houses for cash” or “Sell your house in 9 days” will work fine. Of course, it is best if you can find a telephone number that is easy to remember. Busy intersections provide the greatest number of eyeballs on your signs. The key is to space them out so they are not obnoxious. Posting too many signs in any given area is inviting problems and complaints. Last, hang them as high as possible, so they are not easily taken down or vandalized. To get started, you need to figure out where are the best areas to hang signs. The obvious answer is to hang them where the highest number of potential distressed properties might be. I suggest doing some on-line research to track the following two metrics: 1. Identify zip codes with the lowest DOM (days on market). This is where homes are selling fastest. 2. Identify zip codes where the median home price is below the city’s median home price. If you can narrow down the zip codes that match...
by Gagner | Jan 7, 2015 | Real Estate News
Recently, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Joe Fairless, host of the nationally syndicated “Best Real Estate Advice Ever” show and podcast. We spoke about a range of topics, focusing on raising money for my various real estate businesses and the basics on syndicating apartment deals. Sticking to his fixed format, I was also able to share my best experiences and resources to the audience. To hear the interview, click on the following link: http://goo.gl/JHHgJl. As I shared the story about getting my real estate business started in 2010, I made sure to let the audience know that the most important advice for beginners is to just take action, even if you are not certain all your goals or objectives. Reading books and pursuing my real estate license were the first steps I took, even though I was not sure at the time exactly how or where I was going to invest. The experience taught me that the right people and resources will be met along the way if you are making forward progress each day. As the conversation shifts to my fix and flip business, we speak about how I use “other people’s money” to finance that aspect of my business, freeing up money to invest in buy/hold real estate for passive income. Structuring deals with hard money and private money has a substantial cost, so it is imperative to find good deals with adequate margin. With the right financial resources (and a little experience), a fix/flip business can be run with a relatively small amount of capital. I walk Joe thru a typical deal structure....
by Gagner | Dec 18, 2014 | Real Estate News
Bay Area Real Estate – Look to Us The Bay Area has a lot going for it and real estate is no exception. Currently, the Silicon Valley economy is firing on all cylinders, making real estate everywhere here increasingly valuable. Key factors such as population and economic growth are rising at a phenomenal pace. In addition, high barriers to entry (ie. lack of buildable land) continue to put upward pressure on home values. Unfortunately, local real estate investors looking for cash flow are victims of our area’s own success. Whether real estate investment opportunities in the Bay Area do or don’t exist, depends on your definition of opportunity. In considering the Bay Area for real estate investments, your options will be influenced by many factors, such as your desire for passive vs active income, risk tolerance, yield expectations and investment horizon. Depending on your goals and resources, it may or may not make sense for you to invest in the Bay Area. The following are a few suggestions to consider. Active real estate investors can certainly take advantage of the rising market to earn great returns on wholesale or fix and flip projects. To pursue these strategies, one must develop the resources, know-how and relationships to be successful. This does take a fair amount of time and risk to execute profitably. The largest challenge for most investors doing this today (me included) is finding “the deal”. The common wisdom in real estate is that you make your money when you buy, and this certainly applies to our local market. The most commonly used methods to find deals are networking,...
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