San Francisco Meetup - Thursday 6/19/14

[Johnson H.]

Hi All! I am back from vacation and ready to host another meetup. The location has changed since the old location in April wanted a food minimum. We had close to 30 investors show up for the April meetup. J Martin's SF meetup in May had close to 100!

Come one, come all! Join us to meet with some great people, talk about all aspects of real estate investing, and make some local connections in the San Francisco Bay Area. For those who are coming, please introduce yourself on the forum and what you are looking for. This way, everyone has an idea of who we are and who they'd like to target when we meet up. Everyone will have a chance to introduce themselves in a circle there. I look forward to seeing you all.

What: San Francisco Meetup - June Edition

When: Thursday, June 19, 2014

Where: John Colins (Bar)

138 Minna St

San Francisco, CA 94105

(between New Montgomery and 3rd St)

http://www.yelp.com/biz/john-colins-san-francisco

We have a reservation for the back lounge beside the bar for 20 and the space can easily accommodate many more. I picked this place as it has plenty of space to accommodate everyone, and close to BART/MUNI.

Get There: Take BART/MUNI to Montgomery station. It is less than a 5 minute walk from the station.

Parking: The closest parking lot is across the street at SF MOMA Public Parking, 147 Minna St, San Francisco, CA 94105. Yelp says it is $9 for 3 hours of parking, closes at 11pm. Another option is Fifth & Mission parking garage is just a few minutes away. From 6pm-midnight, rate is $1.50 an hour.

Food and drink: There are drinks available, appetizers, and a menu. I also heard there is sushi on Thursdays on the mezzanine level. You are responsible for the cost of your own food and drink, if you choose to have any. There is no “minimum” or cost for the meetup beyond what you choose to spend.

Looking forward to meeting new investors and seeing familar faces.

Regards,

Johnson

Keywords:

East Bay , East Bay Meetup , Bay Area , Meetup , Meet up , Meet-up , San Francisco , Oakland , Berkeley , Alameda County , Contra Costa County , Solano County , Richmond , Hercules , Concord , Albany , Pittsburgh , Marin San Rafael , South Bay , Peninsula , Walnut Creek , Pittsburgh , Antioch , Pleasanton , Fremont , Castro Valley

[Johnson H.]

@William Yeh  - Thanks for coming out! Just shot you an email about those deals.

[Johnson H.]

sorry all, we got moved to the front next to the front door. Come find us! 

[Kris Lai]

oh wow how did I miss this meetup? If possible please tag me for the next SF meetup:)

[Kathryn M.]

Hi @Johnson H.

Just wanted to say thanks again for organizing - I probably shouldn't mention the bonus beer and wine. Even though we'd met at previous meetups, it was great to finally have a little chat with you and @Amit M. for the first time, as you are both alway in high demand at meetups!

@J. Martin was entertaining and inspirational as always.

It was also great to meet @Account Closed and Rey (sp?) for the first time and learn about more successful strategies.

Sorry that @Kris Lai missed the meetup as it would have been good to chat again.

[J. Martin]

@Johnson H. , Thanks for scheduling this meetup, and for finding us some free booze! What a host!! I like the location for proximity to everything, although the space was a bit cramped, and Thursdays are always loud! If you can get that Thirsty Bear upstairs on a Mon/Tues, might be a homerun ;) I'm on my never-ending search for the perfect meetup spot too, and found a pretty good one for my next...

EAST BAY MEETUP - WED, 7/2 IN OAKLAND:
http://beta.biggerpockets.com/forums/521-events-an...

@Amit M. , thanks for the hospitality at your place after the meetup. Great conversation, and we only scratched the surface… I think you have the pieces in place to get another investor for a good deal. But there is definitely a never-ending chicken-and-egg problem with getting a great deal and having a great investor.. We can talk more later, and interested in hearing more about your plans living in Israel part of the year… Mazel Tov! Don’t be afraid of coming to Oakland either ;)

@Kathryn M. , Pleasure as always, and nice seeing you again last night in San Jose :) I think you’ll be good sitting on your properties for now, but Amit makes a good point about having a plan for when you want/need to pull the trigger.. Unfortunately, RE deals don’t always come around EXACTLY when you need them.. Kind of like looking for a new job. Best time to look is when you already have one. Not when you’re desperate to find another.. ;)

@Account Closed , where you been? How's life? Come out to my East Bay meetup!

[Johnson H.]

Thanks for coming out to the meetup everyone! I am glad to see some familiar faces and to meet some new people as well. The free beer and wine was awesome! Which made up for the somewhat loud place, I'm glad it got quieter towards the end of the night. I will let everyone know when I plan on having the next meetup!

@J Martin - You are always so detailed with your posts after a meetup, you are too good. Yeah, I didn't realize the place would be so loud. Like we talked about yesterday, the second floor of Thirsty Bear could be good, I need to contact them and see what their minimums, if any, are. The search for a large quiet space with no food and drink minimum continues!

[Eleanor V.]

It was a great meet up. Thanks for organizing @Johnson H. 

[Ken Lau]

@Johnson H. 

Thanks for organizing the meet up. You did a great job reclaiming space, twice, at that crowded bar for the attendees!

[Sandeep S.]

Thanks a lot @Johnson H. for organizing the meetup. It was great to meet so many RE investors and it was also a fun evening.

A big thanks to @Kathryn M. for the carpool! (I do not enjoy driving in the city at all)

J. Martin - your dedication towards detailed posts and meetups is very admirable. We should definitely chat some more next time (and I forgot to buy the slinky :(

@Amit M. - I wanted to chat more with you but as someone said - you are always in high demand in these meetups! Next time..

Sorry that I couldn't make to the San Jose meetup on Friday. I am sure it must have been great too.

[Amit M.]

@Sandeep S.  Nice talking with you too. 

Hey, I was thinking of you when reading this tread about a CA investor, made some money, now hung ho for TX! You should definitely read it. It offers serious food for though, as well as entertainment value!

http://beta.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/13...

Let us know what you think!

[Sandeep S.]

Thanks @Amit M. for sending that pointer. It sure has some serious food for thought and even more entertainment! The discussion there is particularly relevant to me as I have been (and still am) a California investor who is lately investing in Texas.

70% of that thread is full of BS (relating to weather, lakes, immigrants and so on). It may not be BS but has little to do with investing. (btw - I love to live in California ;)

Here are my takeaways and point of views (relating to my investments):

- I believe one can make (or lose) money in almost any market. It is really about knowing the local market, buying right and zillion other factors that go into making something a good investment. I am sure that there would have been tons of people who lost their shirt investing in California during the last decade.

- I love California (esp. bay area) fundamentals for appreciation (both values as well as rents). That is why I am not selling any of my local investments to buy in Texas. It is however true that I am not actively buying any more in CA either.

- Instead of selling, I am taking *some* of the equity out of the massive appreciation my CA investments have had in last 4 years, and deploying that in Texas market. This is very different from the OP of the other thread.

- I have a specific investment strategy for which I have found Houston to be perfect market to try out. Given that I am just 6 months into it - it is too early to tell whether it's working or not. But so far, knock on wood, pieces are falling in place. And it is entirely possible that I may have underestimated some of the expenses, esp. the foundation issues that may arise in future. I have some margin for error, but if foundations of all my properties start shifting in exactly 12 months while the next hurricane is busy taking all the roofs out- I haven't planned for that much error! Bottom line - there are risks. But that is natural for any investing. And I have plan B, and then a plan C.

- Again, I have nothing against CA market. I bought as many properties I could possibly buy in the last 5 years here in Hayward. But for my buy-and-hold-forever-for-cash-flow kind of strategy - there are not any local options left. I sometimes wish that the 2009-2011 kind of prices hung around few more years ;). And then I am not as creative as many of you to be able to add significant value to a local property. And my full-time day job is not very helpful that way...

Summary: Out-of-state investing has many additional risks than investing in your backyard. And CAP rates, as advertised for mid-west or south, rarely turn out that way in reality. So one needs to proceed cautiously (with lots of margin for error).

[Amit M.]

@Sandeep S.  well said :)

[Account Closed]

Originally posted by @Sandeep S.:

Thanks @Amit M. for sending that pointer. It sure has some serious food for thought and even more entertainment! The discussion there is particularly relevant to me as I have been (and still am) a California investor who is lately investing in Texas.

70% of that thread is full of BS (relating to weather, lakes, immigrants and so on). It may not be BS but has little to do with investing. (btw - I love to live in California ;)

Here are my takeaways and point of views (relating to my investments):

- I believe one can make (or lose) money in almost any market. It is really about knowing the local market, buying right and zillion other factors that go into making something a good investment. I am sure that there would have been tons of people who lost their shirt investing in California during the last decade.

- I love California (esp. bay area) fundamentals for appreciation (both values as well as rents). That is why I am not selling any of my local investments to buy in Texas. It is however true that I am not actively buying any more in CA either.

- Instead of selling, I am taking *some* of the equity out of the massive appreciation my CA investments have had in last 4 years, and deploying that in Texas market. This is very different from the OP of the other thread.

- I have a specific investment strategy for which I have found Houston to be perfect market to try out. Given that I am just 6 months into it - it is too early to tell whether it's working or not. But so far, knock on wood, pieces are falling in place. And it is entirely possible that I may have underestimated some of the expenses, esp. the foundation issues that may arise in future. I have some margin for error, but if foundations of all my properties start shifting in exactly 12 months while the next hurricane is busy taking all the roofs out- I haven't planned for that much error! Bottom line - there are risks. But that is natural for any investing. And I have plan B, and then a plan C.

- Again, I have nothing against CA market. I bought as many properties I could possibly buy in the last 5 years here in Hayward. But for my buy-and-hold-forever-for-cash-flow kind of strategy - there are not any local options left. I sometimes wish that the 2009-2011 kind of prices hung around few more years ;). And then I am not as creative as many of you to be able to add significant value to a local property. And my full-time day job is not very helpful that way...

Summary: Out-of-state investing has many additional risks than investing in your backyard. And CAP rates, as advertised for mid-west or south, rarely turn out that way in reality. So one needs to proceed cautiously (with lots of margin for error).

 Well I am glad I could entrain you all and could be the butt of your jokes.....

I am from Danville/San Ramon Ca where low income people can't afford a place anywhere near it so it's a nice place to live  and moving to a place in or near The Woodlands TX where once again the only low income people around are doing my dishes.... 

It was my thread, I make the topics in it, if you don't agree with it don't post in it or read it. I am not just investing in this area i am moving to there so everything in that thread is relevant. Obviously you haven't been to The Woodlands Texas so you cant say the place is not nice because it is more beautiful than any place in California to live, it's where the rich people of Houston go to have a nice home with resort like living.

That was the last thread I will ever post here, My friend Scott that has over 300 units told me to to get too involved with this place and do my own thing like he has always done. He was right....

[Amit M.]

@Account Closed  I like your attitude about low income people.  "Class" act. 

[Manch Hon]

Originally posted by @Amit M.:

@Account Closed  I like your attitude about low income people.  "Class" act. 

 May I add "good riddance"? This guy is perfect for Texas.

[Account Closed]

I will tell you bashers what, why don't you buy a nice second residence in the Central Valley in a nice neighborhood and have it broken into three times before you even move in and then tell me how you feel about low income areas and the people that are in them.  On top of that I hire a security expert that recommends that I get a safe room because the Central Valley has a high incidence of home invasions and burglaries where they kick your front door in! Also there are a huge number of Mexican gangs in the area that will steal anything not well protected.  So after the consult I have a bullet resistant hidden safe room, security  cameras with back ups, alarm with back ups and electric fence around the inside of my backyard fence and many other security features just so my wife can feel somewhat safe.  On top of that I was told not to leave my garage open or work on projects in front because criminals patrol good neighborhoods looking for a mark to steal from.  Sorry if I come off as prejudice against poor people but if you had to deal with this crap you would be fed up too.  At my house in Danville I can leave my garage open all night and all of my tools and toys will still be there in the morning. I know because my garage door opener remote malfunctioned leaving it open all night twice!   Where would you rather live? I picked the nicest area I could in this Central Valley town not knowing nice areas are a magnet for criminals looking to rip you off.  On any given week in this small town of less than 20,000, 4-8 cars will be stolen, 3-6 burglaries or home invasions will occur and lately one or two hold ups at gunpoint, this week the bank for the third time this year.     It's so nice that I was so well supported here. Thanks

[Johnson H.]

Okay it looks like this thread got side tracked for a bit. I haven't forgotten about this SF meetup! I am looking for a new venue that has space to accommodate all of us, has food, isn't too loud, and close to BART/MUNI in the financial district of San Francisco. I am looking to do this on a Tuesday night so it isn't as crowded. If anyone has any suggestions, I would welcome them!

[Matthew Kramer]

Hi John,

Is this group still meeting each month in SF? 

If so is there a site and topic summary?

thanks,

- Matt

[J. Martin]

Hi @Matthew Kr

@Matthew Kramer undefined

, You can see @Johnson H. 's next scheduled meetup in his signature line, (San Jose on 8/15.) I also have monthly meetups, usually in Oakland (see my signature website), and there is Bay Area Wealth Builders up in the North Bay (search online). I'm an East Bay investor, and hope to meet you soon!

[Tommy Hoang]

thanks for that info @j martin 

I'll definitely try to make the next one.

[Brandon Foken]

@J. Martin I've never been to a BAWB meetup before. I see that there is a membership due, but you can visit for $20/session. What is your general feeling after attending an event or two (or more)? Is there a specific niche that is better suited to BAWB or is it a wide range of opinions, speakers, etc. Thinking of checking out the next meeting which is later this month. Thanks!