My friend, Ron, is a single-family developer on the East Coast. Ron has spent decades successfully developing subdivisions. He told me this shocking story the other day.  He was planning to build 2,200 square foot homes on about 40 lots that he had developed, hoping to sell these homes in the range of $350,000. They were nothing special but near a beach, so that helped. He saw a new house on the market in a subdivision across the street. It was only 1,500 square feet and sold for over $4 ...read more

As the Federal Reserve aggressively raises interest rates and bond yields climb, we are leaving behind the era of ultra-low mortgage rates that prevailed from 2020 through the end of 2021.  Over the past several years, we’ve become accustomed to mortgage rates below 4%, with the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (for an owner occupant) dipping as low as 2.65% in January of 2021. Those are extremely low in a historical context. As of this writing, the average rate on the same ...read more

You know Angelenos and real estate: If someone’s selling it, we’ll buy it, even if it’s underground. Long before “da bomb,” there was “The Bomb.” The first is a now-obsolete descriptor for “cool.” The second is a real WMD, not remotely cool, and not remotely close to obsolete. Because of the capital-b Bomb, Southern California, ever the groundbreaker, once had a fine obsession with that quirky Cold War amenity: the backyard bomb shelter, a thermonuclear version of that time- ...read more

Have you ever been confused about something that should be perfectly clear?  Like the ongoing mystery of semi-boneless ham: does it have a bone…or not?  I think a lot of investors are confused about why cap rates on some value-add deals are lower than cap rates for similar stabilized deals. With the help of my friend and fellow BP author, Brian Burke, I’ll try to solve this mystery in this post.  Please note that this issue goes much deeper than just solving a riddle. This speaks to the ...read more

This week’s question comes from Brandon through Ashley’s Instagram direct messages (follow her @wealthfromrentals). Brandon is asking: I live in a great neighborhood where my rent is less than a potential mortgage. I’m looking to invest in a different town experiencing great growth, but I would live there myself. Is it a bad idea to purchase a rental property before purchasing my primary residence?  Both Ashley and Tony had to ask themselves this same question as they started their r ...read more

In 1998, after a winter of heavy rains, the hill below Via Estoril collapsed. Several homes slid down, others were destroyed, and the condominiums below were heavily damaged. Residents of the Laguna Niguel neighborhood, where ridgetop homes have swimming pools and panoramic views, were sure that no one would ever think of building there again. Now, 24 years later, a developer is proposing new condominiums at the base of the hill. Improvements made since the landslide will prevent disaster fr ...read more

This week’s question comes from Brandon through Ashley’s Instagram direct messages (follow her @wealthfromrentals). Brandon is asking: I live in a great neighborhood where my rent is less than a potential mortgage. I’m looking to invest in a different town experiencing great growth, but I would live there myself. Is it a bad idea to purchase a rental property before purchasing my primary residence?  Both Ashley and Tony had to ask themselves this same question as they started their r ...read more

Outside of perhaps David Greene, I have been arguably the biggest proponents of buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat—otherwise known as the BRRRR strategy. The BRRRR strategy has been very good to me and many others, but alas, my dear friends, all good things must come to an end. OK, the word “end” might be a bit hyperbolic here. The BRRRR strategy is by no means completely over—and it will certainly come back in full force one day. No real estate market stays the same forever. That be ...read more

It’s just 35 miles between UCLA and Whittier, the hometown of Albert Hsu. The first-year Bruin could have commuted and saved $14,000 a year in campus housing and meal plan costs. But that was not even a consideration, because Hsu wanted the classic college experience of independent dorm life, new friends, group study sessions — and, at UCLA, the choice of more than 1,200 student organizations. All of that, Hsu said, enriches him personally and helps him academically. “Friends are a sou ...read more

Technicolor Creative Studios is establishing a new Culver City campus, boosted by the return of production and demand from streamers for its visual effects services. The office, which is expected to open in July, includes a four-story, 60,000-square-foot main building and a 4,750-square-foot virtual production space located on Washington Boulevard, the company said. The campus will be a central home for the various divisions of Technicolor Creative Studios that have been spread out in differe ...read more