This is a great house that has been totally remodeled. It looks like the bank did this one, I never see bank-owned property in this condition where the owner did a previous remodel. The location is excellent, in the north part of Normal Heights-this neighborhood looks a lot more residential other streets in the area. The price at $399,800 is a touch high, as two on ones are selling for many thousands less than that in Normal Heights.
Still, if you’re looking for a house, it’s hard to beat this one. It costs the same as a lot of condos. For the investor, the returns won’t be as good as on a 2-4 unit at the same price, but this is totally turnkey-you could lease it up in a week, no work needed.
As an owner occupant, you could just move in, no remodeling needed. With four bedrooms, it would be pretty easy to have an office or den. There is plenty of parking, even though one of the rooms looks like a garage conversion. One thing that’s a bummer is that there is no backyard. Just a narrow walkway.
This is culled from an email response to one of my clients this morning, where he was looking to expand his search out of PB and into other areas. It’s “quick and dirty”, but gets the point across:
“Basically, OB has much less available than PB, Point Loma is bigger and has more inventory, but you could end up in a pretty dated building and run-down area at these prices. I can set you up for both of them, but I highly recommend checking out at a minimum Normal Heights and University Heights. There’s a ton a foreclosures there, the neighborhoods are walkable with their own little downtowns, and you can find houses and 2-4 units with a lot of character and potential.
You’re young, so if you buy a house in the low $300,000’s or $200,000’s or a 2-4 unit in the mid $300,000’s or $400,000’s and have someone live in another unit paying a big chunk of your mortgage for you, it’s tough to go wrong.
Especially when you’re buying a property at 50%-70% off what it sold for at the peak. Live in it for a few years, and when you’re ready to move on, either sell at a nice profit or even better, hang onto it for passive income and go to your next one.
These areas have very strong rental markets, so will have the option to rent them quickly and or rent out a unit and use that market as a hedge. It’s pretty cool.”
This is a great investment property and is interesting for several reasons. One, the list price is too high: $569,000. The bank took it back for $567,000, so it’s easy to see where it came from. Back in October of 2004, this fourplex sold for the remarkable price of $810,000. Not sure how that was pulled off, it was high even for back then.
The great thing about this being priced high at the outset is that it turns off other potential buyers. Most bank-owned properties are listed so low that there are multiple offers in on them in a matter of days. Price it high, and it just sits. The seller is still a bank that needs to unload it’s inventory though, so the savvy buyer can make a low offer and take their time negotiating it without (in many cases, but not all) feeling pressured by the ever present “other offers”. The low offer will be submitted and the process can started.
I like the location of this one-right down the street from a walkable part of Adams Ave, next to a coffee shop. University Heights itself is a step up from Normal Heights (as much as I like it there).
Nice little parcel and vintage ’40’s units with well-maintained wood floors. Some are original inside, some aren’t. There are two 1/1’s and two 2/1’s with four separate garages that appeared to be single car. One of the units was above the garage. The garages lend themselves nicely to either increased rents on the units or for renting them out separately for storage to outside renters $100-$200 bucks a month depending on size.
We had a foundation inspection the other day from the best company in San Diego, actually right in Normal Heights.
The front house appears to have been built in the 1920’s. The rear of this house is a new addition built sometime in the last 3-5 years, including a new foundation. Front of front house foundation is original and deteriorating, but not too bad.
Rear studio may have been a garage in the past, it’s on a slab foundation. There is a bulge in the floor that appears to have been tiled over in it’s existing state. Larry Teves from Craftsman Foundation Repair http://www.craftsmanfoundation.com/ , who did the inspection, explained how, if there are leak or drainage problems, the expansive clay soils of the Normal Heights area will expand and cause cracks, etc.
So it’s pretty important to verify if there are active leak or drainage issues under the slab. Again, as per Larry, it looks like the tile was laid down over the sloping area, so it’s hard to tell.
Checklist for this property:
-Check foundation repair estimate + home inspection results and get credit request into lender/ owner
-Verify permitting. There is zero landscaping on property (great for maintenance, but code compliant?)
-Verify zoning, etc.
A few pictures from the other morning:
cracked tile in back house floor
front house 3rd bedroom with the most slope. I see this all the time
Of Course You CAN Afford Your New duplex, triplex, fourplex, or small commercial multifamily property for your home or investment…
…Just Think of All the Money you’ll Save by Reading my Letter.
Dear Future Multifamily Owner
Before I get started with telling you why I’ve chosen to write this letter, I’d like to first ask you a question. Have you ever said to yourself…I’ve been meaning to get this property search off the ground, but is now the right time for it?’ (Or, I’ve been too busy to get around to calling someone!)
Well if this describes you, then I have terrible news. As you can imagine, my market, like most other markets, has been affected by the economy and for the first time in years, there are not enough properties for sale for the amount of buyers out there.
In fact, I’m worried that we’re not going to see the “wave of foreclosures” here in San Diego long talked about in the media. It’s hard enough to keep my clients who are in the “just looking” phase busy, and I’m even faced with having to consider laying off some of them that are not taking action fast enough. This is particularly disturbing to me since they are a part of Ted Lucier’s and Prudential California’s extended family (many have been with me for over six years) and besides, I’m afraid if I lay some of them off, I won’t be able to get them a great property when the economy turns around.
You SAVE - I FIND YOU A GREAT PROPERTY - A Deal-Of-A Lifetime
I am redoing my business by offering you (people who want to take Fast Action and take advantage of this unique market while it’s still around.) An opportunity-of-a-lifetime to save on your next 2-4 unit investment like never before…just give me a chance to prove it to you.
All you need to do is simply call for a FREE Planning Session where we can discuss what you have in mind. I’ll give you my expert advice that I’ve learned from over 87 property sales and then “wow” you with a price for the investment like you have never seen before.
This Is A RARE Opportunity To Get Into Properties Like:
A Duplex where you live in one unit/house and rent out the other one to pay for a part of your mortgage A Duplex, Triplex, Or Fourplex that is a safe, physical investment that pays for itself and gives you money back A 5 to 15 Unit building that the big investors ignore and you can get a great price and great cashflow every month A 2-4 property in a great neighborhood that costs less than surrounding houses you can convert into a house
Or whatever you desire to invest and/or live in at bottom of the market, bank-owned prices
Here’s what to do next:
Pick up the phone and call my office (858-412-7484) and ask for me, Ted. If I’m not there, leave a message or you can email me at tedlucier @ gmail.com and we’ll make plans for a FREE Planning Session.
You are, of course, under no obligation to buy anything, but I think once you see the “You-Save-I-Find-You-A-Great-Property” LOW Pricing I can offer you (as long as there are still open time slots in my office) then you’ll be thrilled you gave me a call.
Of course, at these 20 year low “You-Save-I-Find-You-A-Great-Property” Prices, you are still protected by the “17 day take-it-or-leave-it” state of California buyer protection built into the purchase offer.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Ted Lucier
PS#1: I can only offer the “You-Save-I-Find-You-A-Great-Property” LOW pricing as long as there are open times at my office. So please don’t delay and call my office (858-412-7484) and for me, Ted. If I’m not there, leave a message or you can email me at tedlucier @ gmail.com.
PS#2: If you know a family member, friend, or co-worker who wants to take advantage of historically low purchase prices and interest rates, as well as my “You-Save-I-Find-You-A-Great-Property” offer, then please tell them to call and mention this letter and I’ll extend them this same offer.
PS#3 During this “You-Save-I-Find-You-A-Great-Property” LOW pricing opportunity, I’ll even include FREE estimates from my personal contractor who specializes in fixing up rental properties. Pick up the phone NOW and give me a call.
Just how hot is this market? How many people are looking for the same deal you are? Click play on the button below to listen to an actual message left for me from a listing agent’s assistant on a bank-owned fourplex when I called to check availability (she was one of the rare ones that actually called back):
This is a simple website I put up for a few clients. I’m always out in the field in the metro area neighborhoods previewing these properties, taking pictures, writing summaries and emailing them individually.
This makes it easier for me and you-I can post once and keep everyone updated, and you can sign up for automatic email updates to have new content pushed to your email account.
This site is not a comprehensive breakdown of all foreclosures in San Diego. There aren’t a ton of properties on here because I’ve already screened them on the mls and either eliminated them off the bat or decided to go look at them in person for a select few clients.
I’m also only doing duplexes, two on ones, triplexes and four plexes for the most part. Out of any real estate investment someone can make in San Diego right now, these have one of highest rates of return.
Once in awhile, I’ll check out a couple houses-almost never any condos or townhomes. When the niche is this narrow there are not a ton of bank owned places for sale at any given time.
The neighborhoods I generally check out for my investor clients are: Mission Hills (92103), Hillcrest, Golden Hill (92102), South Park, North Park (92104), Kensignton (92116), Normal Heights and University Heights.
To receive the automatic email updates for properties I personally review, just sign up in the box provided in the top right corner. I have link to a brief snapshot of my business under the “About” page and directions to my offices under another page.
For my newsletter pertaining to this specialty market, please sign up above. It’s regularly delivered via email and is not a waste of your time. Each issue contains to the point, no b.s. analysis and updates of this constantly changing “wild west” of markets.
I have to protect you and myself against spam, so once you sign in here, you will receive an email right away asking if you yourself actually signed up-click on the link and we’re all set!
For a ten unit building, I like the looks of this one. Asking price is $1,150,000 or $115,000 per unit. Unit makeup: four 2/1’s at 650 square feet with average rents at $940 as per loopnet and six 1/1’s with average rents at $813.
Gross income is $109,380, net is $64,503. Cap is 5.60%, gross rent multiplier 10.5.
According to the city tax record, this property was last purchased in 1991, price undisclosed. Other than that, it’s been bounced around between family members is trusts and the like. They took a loan out in 2004 for $250,000 so they have plenty of equity. I also noticed that the listing broker has the same last name as one of the owners, so this would be a case of dealing directly with the seller.
Offer status unknown at the time of this writing, I have left a message for the broker. UPDATE, just got a call back: This was under contract as of last Friday. Buyer was a cash buyer, discounted slightly from list price, not a lot. Buyer did a walk-through and was disappointed at the age of the building, wanted seller to do new electrical, plumbing, etc. Broker thinks it will fall out of escrow today or tomorrow and has listed the property back active.
The outside of the property has been spruced up with new paint and what looks to be new landscaping. Generally with these buildings they don’t do anything to get it ready for sale, so between this and the price I think they’re pretty motivated.
Location is pretty good, walkable to all the action on University Ave.
This was the third short sale I looked at today. Usually, it’s just REO’s. I wanted to see this one because it’s a triplex. Looked like it was in pretty good shape, although it was tenant occupied, so I couldn’t see the inside. You never know until you get in there.
Unit makeup is 2/1, 1/1, 2/1. Actual rents are listed as per the mls at $1,320/ $800/ $935. List price is $465,000-too high. Off the top of my head, I would say mid $300’s to high $300’s on this one.
Location could be better; for a North Park property, I prefer to see it at or around two areas: the Morely Field area and right around University Ave, downtown area by the parking garage, Urban Body Gym, etc.
This one looks pretty rough as well, although the mls does state “80% of a remodel completed”. So I guess they walked away from the remodel when they ran out of money. It is another short sale, tenant occupied. Offer status unknown, mls says “offer accepted pending lender approval of short sale”, then “all offers being submitted to lender”. Doesn’t mean much anyway. People jump in and out of short sales all the time.
Unit makeup is pretty good, a 3/1 and a 2/2 at 1,257 and 726 square feet.
I didn’t get to see the inside-the mls pictures look pretty good. Still tenant occupied. It’s a nice parcel with quite a bit of parking. Location is great, up in the north part of University Heights with a desirable tenant mix and nice walkable neighborhood.
List price is $425,000-$465,000. Compared to units I’m currently seeing sell in the $350,000 range, I definitely think it’s overpriced. Being that it’s a short sale, if you’re interested in an offer, I would recommend the “fire and forget” approach. Get a low offer in and check up every month or so while you continue to look at other stuff.
All in all, this could be a great long-term property to own-the price just needs a lot of work.
front house viewed from street
back view of front house
view towards the back unit from the back of the front house
This house is in pretty rough shape from the looks of it. It’s a short sale with a tenant in the front house, and the back house has a combo lockbox with no code on the mls and no one to answer the phone when I called for it. Confidential remarks on the mls state that there is a cracked slab.
List price is $350,000. One house is a 2/1 and the other is a 3/0, whatever that means. Actual rents are listed on the mls as $950 for the two bedroom and $1,400 for the three.
The location is a little close to El Cajon Blvd, not to my liking: View Larger Map
Overall, considering this is a shortsale with a cracked slab (as per the mls), pretty rough condition, and not the greatest location or price, I think we’ll see this one pop up as a reo soon enough. This would be best in the high $200’s or low, low $300’s for a contractor type buyer.
