Perfect Owner User / 1031 Exchange on Iconic Balboa Island

Three units for sale on the best retail street in Balboa Island. One residential unit over two retail stores. Both stores are leased with >$6,000 monthly income. The 2 bedroom residential unit has just be completely renovated to a very high standard. This would be an ideal investment property with personal use benefits.

Mixed use properties are more difficult to finance, but that may be an opportunity for a cash rich buyer or someone who can find alternative ways to finance.

Listed at $2,350,000. Call me for details.

Rental Property Investments Orange County, CA

Let's talk about the investment opportunities available to you within a 1 hour Southwest flight south. Most of Silicon Valley and the Bay Area has become very expensive to buy investment properties.  Good alternatives can be found surrounding one of the best growth cities in SoCal: Irvine. 

Why Irvine?  This city is master planned and very pro-business. It is building many new office parks and buildings to attract great companies. This would be a perfect place to buy a rental property but not possible in the multi-family arena. The city did not build 4plexes or small apartment buildings. If so, they are owned by The Irvine Company - essentially the developer of all of Irvine since the 1950s.

There are very good opportunities for duplex, fourplex and small apartment building purchases in surrounding cities such as Santa Ana, Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Garden Grove and Westminster. Vacancies are low, rents are strong and new apartment growth is limited. These class B & C buildings are in excellent locations, stable and can be upgraded to increase rents. Quality property management is also readily available. I am sure you will find the rates of return better than Bay Area options.

Aside from straight rental investment options, consider the benefits of a rental property in a top beach location. There are small rental investment properties in great beach towns such as Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, San Clemente and others in Orange County. A purchase of a fourplex can be a great investment plus you can allocate one unit for family (or AirBnB) use.

Let's have a conversation about your goals. I am sure there are some good options here for you.

Dana Point Duplex for Sale and a Family Planning Guide

 

This duplex in Dana Point could be the ideal 1031 exchange or straight purchase for long term use.

($995,000 price, great area and condition, 2,198 square feet)

 

I am a big advocate of future planning. Many homeowners buy their first house, sell it and trade up when the kids arrive and then eventually face retirement in a large empty house. What is the next step? Sell the home and look for a nice condo near the beach? While all that is achievable, it does add stress, coordination and tax implications to the mix when you may not want them.

 

My simple plan:

 

Once you own your first starter home, and before the family starts growing, buy a rental property somewhere. It doesn't need to be in Dana Point or some other luxury location. It just needs to be a deal that will increase in value and cash-flow over time. As a current Orange County resident, I would look at small SFRs in Santa Ana, Long Beach, Westminster, Garden Grove. There are many other places to consider - I happen to like the growth patterns there.

 

Keep the house rented and in good shape for 10+ years. Sell eventually when the market is hot in that segment and 1031 trade into a 2 unit (in this case in Dana Point) where the market is less hot.

 

Now keep that property for another 10+ years until the kids go off to college, finish college and can support themselves. Be careful not to downsize too soon - some kids come back!  You probably have traded up the small starter home and bought a larger home in that same time frame. Assuming it is in a good neighborhood, rent it out. Move to the duplex in Dana Point.

 

Why?

 

If you have a nice house in a good neighborhood with low property taxes, you stand to get good, stable rental income and are advantaged by Prop 13 taxes and you get tax depreciation. All with no sales costs to eat into your equity.

 

Your duplex in Dana Point is also Prop 13 tax advantaged, sitting in a nice location where your family will want to come visit and again no new purchase hurdles and costs.

 

Finally, your large rental house is a great asset to keep up with rising living costs. Rents should increase every year and you continue to build equity. If values are going up 3-5% per year and your house if worth $800k - that is $24,000 - $40,000 of equity growth that you earn in your sleep.

 

Plan for the margaritas by the beach in your 60s now before it gets there too soon!

 

- Mario, almost 50...

 

 

Orange County Apartment Investments for Sale

The small apartment market in Orange County, CA is hot! There are not many listings and most are in escrow. That being said, I keep a short (and ever-changing list) of attractive deals.

4 units Lake Forest, CA: large, owner-occupied quality four units with ideal amenities: garages, large unit mix, quality design, clean street, great OC location

3 units Huntington Beach - townhouse style side by side units with garages walking distance to the pier and downtown

4 units Huntington Beach - super large 4 units of 8,000 square feet! Great water side location. High quality architecture, custom built - ideal for owner-user.

For an updated list of investment properties, connect with me anytime!

Mario's cell in OC: 415-269-6249 call or text