buying a house for holidays in LA

[manuelstraight9]

Hey, I've been in the U.S. several times and I am thinking about buying a house in LA .
Looking around for a deal I started to think that building it can be an option. Land prices are cheaper and building is way way cheaper than Europe.
The plan is to buy/build a small house with a garden and rent it except the 1-2 months I will be in LA.

What do you think about it ?

I haven't spoken yet to my lawyer to know the implications of owing and renting a house in U.S. for a foreign citizen so the whole idea can easily turn into nothing

 

[ronin001]

If you have the funds to make such a purchase, I wish you well

Just take into account that remote ownership, means someone needs to watch your investment for you, while you are away. I had a remote property for a while; and I was more joyous to sell it , for a fraction of what I paid for it, than I was at its purchase . The people I paid to cut the grass and maintain the property, knew I was in New York and never knew if they actually did the work. Once or twice I snuck down to see the house and the grass was 9 inches tall and someone was camping on the back porch

Good Luck

 

[AdonisComplex]

M

Hey, I've been in the U.S. several times and I am thinking about buying a house in LA .
Looking around for a deal I started to think that building it can be an option. Land prices are cheaper and building is way way cheaper than Europe.
The plan is to buy/build a small house with a garden and rent it except the 1-2 months I will be in LA.

What do you think about it ?

I haven't spoken yet to my lawyer to know the implications of owing and renting a house in U.S. for a foreign citizen so the whole idea can easily turn into nothing

Manuel - happy to discuss this and give you some ideas on this:
Rentals in Los Angeles are usually year-round/longer term.. and with you taking 1-2 months out of the year, that's that.. there are certain months in the year when you might be able to rent for say 3 months at a time (furnished) to people in town for certain parts of the year in the entertainment industry -- but location is important... Also to consider: the different 'cities' (local authorities) within greater Los Angeles all have different rules about whether they permit AirBnB-type rentals (because local residents have complained that the AirBnB market is pushing them out of affordability of LIVING in LA, competing against properties being made available as AirBnBs..)

 

[deleted1149118]

It's going to be a significant investment. I would 100% recommend using a property management company. They take a small cut off of your tenants rents that go to you and look after things. It's "cheap" because they often have hundreds of properties in their folio.

Alternatively, buy a house or buy land somewhere serene with a view and remodel or build a new home and register it as a business. There's lots of good money to be made as the owner of property that's used for film production or a wedding venue (outdoor wedding). You will still need a property management company to take care up upkeep on your behalf.

 

[deleted13888921]

It's going to be a significant investment. I would 100% recommend using a property management company. They take a small cut off of your tenants rents that go to you and look after things. It's "cheap" because they often have hundreds of properties in their folio.

Alternatively, buy a house or buy land somewhere serene with a view and remodel or build a new home and register it as a business. There's lots of good money to be made as the owner of property that's used for film production or a wedding venue (outdoor wedding). You will still need a property management company to take care up upkeep on your behalf.

Have you seen the prices on a home in LA recently? Way over priced! My suggestion: lease or rent. Since your only going to be there for 2-3 months anyways. IF you decide to buy, then rent out to the movie industry, and or weddings, etc. Remember, your liability will be immense. Insurance will cost you an arm and leg. AND, those property taxes...

 

[deleted1149118]

Have you seen the prices on a home in LA recently? Way over priced! My suggestion: lease or rent. Since your only going to be there for 2-3 months anyways. IF you decide to buy, then rent out to the movie industry, and or weddings, etc. Remember, your liability will be immense. Insurance will cost you an arm and leg. AND, those property taxes...

Yep. I have a few properties in CA. Bought a house here too. Property tax only updates under certain remodeling conditions. Markets there currently cool but I don't expect prices to regress anytime soon. Region was mostly unscathed during the economic collapse a decade ago and quickly bounced back.

 

[deleted13888921]

Yep. I have a few properties in CA. Bought a house here too. Property tax only updates under certain remodeling conditions. Markets there currently cool but I don't expect prices to regress anytime soon. Region was mostly unscathed during the economic collapse a decade ago and quickly bounced back.

Property taxes are not all created equal in California. 'Prop 13' does hold it down...to an extent. Bond measures, and some counties, like Riverside have high property taxes. Yes, any construction with permits will increase it. Remember, even a million dollar home will be at least 8-10K (or more) a year in taxes. IF the politicians get their way, Prop 13 will be no more...good luck! That, and many other reasons I got the hell out of California...and never looked back. Just me.

 

[deleted1149118]

Property taxes are not all created equal in California. 'Prop 13' does hold it down...to an extent. Bond measures, and some counties, like Riverside have high property taxes. Yes, any construction with permits will increase it. Remember, even a million dollar home will be at least 8-10K (or more) a year in taxes. IF the politicians get their way, Prop 13 will be no more...good luck! That, and many other reasons I got the hell out of California...and never looked back. Just me.

The issue with Prop 13's repeal and the fact I don't see it happening is it will cause a lot of people to lose their homes who can't afford the taxes. People who've bought their home decades ago for some of the cheap prices our generation were told those who came before us were able to buy them for, along with attending college.

The construction language is interesting. I was able to remodel a lot of the interiors without pulling permits so nothing came up. I know plenty of people who've done window changes, either full frame or slip ins without the required permitting. "It was like this when I bought it!" It's a messed up system and it has contributed to lack of tax funds but with the way the state taxes everything and the MJ generation, honestly it's still a mess.

The income tax, bracketed and with heavy legal deductions is still decent even with taxes on realized shares and conversions. I compare it to companies I invested in over a decade ago which are worth a lot more now. It's good to know I'm good there but the tax at sales is a bitch. I'm back and forth between NV and CA. Whether is relatively the same minus the beaches.

Don't see myself living here so I may end up selling the house here for gain or keep it for that airbnb nonsense. I'm not hurting for money, but it's just another expensive down the road. Houses, regardless of how new or old, don't like to not be lived in for long periods of time.

The CA politics are funny man. There's "Liberals" like Pelosi and there's the Liberals like AOC who want to get rid of that stuff. I see where AOC is coming from, as a Democrat myself, but I'd rather keep things how they are. Ultra liberals like that do not last, my friend. Democrats and old school Republicans are more alike than they'd care to admit. Keep stuff the same, mildly improve now and again, and don't mess with people's stuff. Seems fair enough to me.

 

[deleted1149118]

Also, personally I wouldn't buy a property now, especially in the LA area. Either wait for a possible but unlikely pricing crash or seek somewhere else. Plenty of great places along the coast that offer so much more than LA or most of the lower part of CA.

Wish I saw more people investing in other coast areas or inlet areas with better and more rational prices and COL. Don't even get me started on the number of Teslas that'll run you over here.

 

[deleted13888921]

The issue with Prop 13's repeal and the fact I don't see it happening is it will cause a lot of people to lose their homes who can't afford the taxes. People who've bought their home decades ago for some of the cheap prices our generation were told those who came before us were able to buy them for, along with attending college.

The construction language is interesting. I was able to remodel a lot of the interiors without pulling permits so nothing came up. I know plenty of people who've done window changes, either full frame or slip ins without the required permitting. "It was like this when I bought it!" It's a messed up system and it has contributed to lack of tax funds but with the way the state taxes everything and the MJ generation, honestly it's still a mess.

The income tax, bracketed and with heavy legal deductions is still decent even with taxes on realized shares and conversions. I compare it to companies I invested in over a decade ago which are worth a lot more now. It's good to know I'm good there but the tax at sales is a bitch. I'm back and forth between NV and CA. Whether is relatively the same minus the beaches.

Don't see myself living here so I may end up selling the house here for gain or keep it for that airbnb nonsense. I'm not hurting for money, but it's just another expensive down the road. Houses, regardless of how new or old, don't like to not be lived in for long periods of time.

The CA politics are funny man. There's "Liberals" like Pelosi and there's the Liberals like AOC who want to get rid of that stuff. I see where AOC is coming from, as a Democrat myself, but I'd rather keep things how they are. Ultra liberals like that do not last, my friend. Democrats and old school Republicans are more alike than they'd care to admit. Keep stuff the same, mildly improve now and again, and don't mess with people's stuff. Seems fair enough to me.

Well, as I said in our PM its not all those rainbows and unicorns in Ca right now. It is the 'liberals' who are ruining everything at the moment. Those are just the facts...regardless of your view on the left or right side of the isle you stand on. You couldn't get me to move back there. The crime, traffic, taxes, rude assholes, blah, blah, blah. I'm sure you get what I mean. You, like myself are in Vegas. Spend the dough in Summerlin (IF your not there already). Great bang for the buck, and it reminds me of Westlake Village. Vegas has everything you could want: nice people, low property taxes, food, shops, cars, and no major traffic. The weather is just like So-Cal...oh, and no smog here! This, is why I chose to be here. My long time friends from Ca are here as well. Oh, btw, I have been here two years and not walked into any casino....and i'm also just a few miles away from 'The Strip'...IF I want to go.

 

[zacheryurueta]

Hello, manuelstraight9! If you got some free money or thought about taking a small loan with the regular income, why not? I think that it can be a good investment for the future. Real estate is one for old-school investments, so in my opinion, it can be really good for the future. I understood that you are pretty good in the financial state. Can you suggest to me a good way for investments? I am thinking about investing in some funds right now, but I'm not familiar with the definitions. Can someone explain the pros and cons of investing in fundrise vs diversyfund.

 

[WilliamG]

Well this regressed quickly... Born and raised here in LA. It is what you make of it.