My story:
Grew up in LA.
Uni football player at AF academy.
Spent 5 years active duty.
Bought my first deal in 2012.
Portfolio: 85 units. Valley & Westside.
Long only. Never plan to sell.
Here to learn from all the legends.
Have this conversation frequently. Football taught me more about life than anything else. I’m a huge proponent of football. I did have many injuries. Forcibly retired due to concussions. But the lessons learned were worth all of it. You may think you’re protecting your sons but you’re just coddling them. They need to get hit in the mouth and learn to get back up. They need to learn how to work together with teammates toward a common goal. I played every sport growing up and there is no better teacher than football. Hard things are often the best things. For those willing to learn, the savagery creates humble calloused men. We need more of them.
@ScottChoppin@LA_Multi_Fam This is good. May need architect to draw supplemental for the work to please inspector. Or just do it. Water proof it. Dialed.
Our simple ADU cost benefit analysis:
1. When the ADU program broke, I was stoked but not totally sold on the idea of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to build a single unit. Rates were near zero and I could get 4 units for the cost of one ADU due to the benefit of leverage in RE. But the overarching theme in my mind - we're essentially buying new units well under market that will have ~no to low maintenance needs in the future.
2. Yield on Cost: After doing some analysis I found the YOC to be the best bang for our buck i.e. highest and best use of capital allocation. For example, instead of buying 1 bedroom units for say ~250k that need to be fully rehabbed for an additional ~50k (also praying we have organic move outs), we were able to build new units for half the price (garage conversion) that rent at a much higher psf and operate more efficiently. Essentially, we're able to rent at a much higher psf so the gap of income to opex is wider (NOI) than a typical 60s apartment unit which significantly drags your cap rate in the positive direction.
3. Inflation: How often do you hear people say they wish they would have bought or built 10 years ago? Inflation is a reality so we decided to build everything we could, even 'expensive' two story units as pricing, for everything, will only increase. Because we plan to hold these assets, God willing, to the grave, we are building now to elongate our compounding.
4. Rates: Finally, ADUs are a strategic play to hedge against the evils of RSO. Without ADUs a lot of folks would find themselves in hot water (rates have increased and LA wouldn't allow rent increases for years). We have multiple loans coming due in the summer of 25. ADUs allow us to comfortably move into a higher rate environment while generating competitive returns.
The game is simple. Clear thinking and focus are not. Onward.
We’ll see how it shakes out. Resubmitted updated T24 to save on upgrading the main gas line. SoCal Gas estimated $14k for the work. Have been back and forth with water and power and Public works about trenching but believe we have a workaround to move our drop line to a new pole and update the meter spot location.
We should be in the $350k range. We demolished the existing 4 car garage. new foundation, footing, slab. Upgrading panel etc. Targeting $2500 each for the units. Not garage conversion returns but good enough for us. Will do a post on how we think through it.
Framed up on 3 different projects. 3 different cities.
1. 2 units - each 1 bed above a newly built 4 car garage.
2. 2 units - studios. Garage conversion.
3. 1 unit - Ground up - 2 bed 2 bath.
@LA_Multi_Fam Not sure how I feel about this. More competition at our price point. We are saving parking by going 2 story as I think it will be a competitive advantage in the future.
JENSEN HUANG: “Resilience matters in success. I don’t know how to teach it to you, except for: I hope suffering happens to you .. because .. greatness comes from character. And character isn’t formed out of smart people. It’s formed out of people who suffered.” $NVDA
@ValaAfshar
Jeff Bezos: I asked Warren Buffett, your investment thesis is so simple. you’re the second richest guy in the world, and it’s so simple. Why doesn’t everyone just copy you?
Warren Buffett: BC nobody wants to get rich slow.
Patience is underrated.
We've begun installing drizzlex IOT devices on all fixtures in units. Simple way in real time to find and mitigate leaks. Also, helpful for billing back tenants for actual water usage. City of LA has a rebate program.