// the mood & vibes this week
— hi, friends :) writing this to you from a favorite haunt on the eastside of LA, stereoscope coffee. talk about being a perfect cafe to write a newsletter; i always get so much done here. like its sister spot a few streets over (canyon coffee), stereoscope is covered in wood on the interior walls & tables. the wifi is fast, the AC is onnnn (cuz it's 87 degrees out!) and the non-caffeinated drinks are fire. ANYWAYS. there is sooooooooooooooo much to tell you about, holy sh*t.
— last i wrote to you, i was on a trip in portland, oregon, having an insanely granola cool time. it was a wildly magical adventure. the kind of place where it just feels so RIGHT you have goosebumps all over from thinking about it. gays and nature and summer! that whole trip was a giant sign that i need to spend more time in the pacific northwest. like, have a whole summer up there. i can't say i'm not envious when i see friends and internet people doing that - just actually having a WHOLE FREAKIN' SUMMER in some glorious locale. that's definitely a dream of mine. to just backpack and camp through washington and oregon from may through september. right up there with dreams of italian summer and mamma mia greece summer. it will happen, gotta manifest it! as for now, we are definitely more in the grinding phase of life. and that's been the case ever since my gladiator sandals touched down in LA after oregon.
— the main thing has been continuing the renovation of my new house ;). GAH IT NEVER GETS OLD! NEW HOUSE! I AM A HOMEOWNER!?!?? insane. but. yes. it's been WILDDDDDDDD. the original game plan completely changed, but i'm honestly not mad about it, it's just a lot. when i bought the property (a triplex in silver lake; midcentury c. 1968; two units with 2 beds/1 bath & one unit with 2 beds/2baths) only one unit was vacant. the idea was to renovate that unit (unit 1) and move in. upon acquisition, i knew the property needed a lot of other things, but was planning to space them out over the next few years. WELP. that all changed when both my tenants decided to leave at the same time, a month into ownership. it was literally just coincidence - they were planning to go elsewhere! so this means i essentially purchased a fully vacant property, which is the golden ticket for investors. fully vacant means you can make updates and then get amazing tenants in there paying market rates. however, THERE IS A CATCH.
— i quickly realized i was in a bind. if i rented the vacant units with the building as-is, the rents simply wouldn't be as high. this is crucial because in LA (and anywhere really…) you never really know how long a tenant will stay. you could be stuck escalating from a low price point over a three, five, ten+ year period. so, filling vacant units at the highest rent possible is absolutely crucial. when i put this together, i realized that i had 3 months to complete updates i thought i'd have YEARS to do. CRAY CRAY! so now, in addition to entirely renovating unit 1, i am renovating unit 2, painting the exterior, fixing all the steps (there are a series of classic 60s floating staircases in sh*tty condition), doing a whole landscaping project, cutting up concrete, adding lights, ALL DAT.
— it's actually going super slay, though. partnering with some cool brands on different elements of this renovation. and i think it's all going to look amazing at the end - a fully renovated, fully vacant triplex in the heart of silver lake!
— well, not fully renovated. i don't have enough coin to renovate unit 3, the one i'm moving into. which is chill because i'll do this in a few years. and in ten years (or as i joke with my friends, post-second-divorce-settlement) i'll pay a gazillion dollars to build an ADU in the back (because the lot is a whopping 8,000+ feet! big for a hot LA neighborhood!).
— and speaking of ADU's! i was just featured in house freaking beautiful in an article talking about them, and other real estate trends.
like, a full on feature *insert gay screaming.* i am truly honored to be tapped for this and to take a little thunder away from the cis real estate finance bros and talk about fire rebuilding, price appreciation, and all sorts of nerdy things like that.
— i mean, besides house stuff, real estate stuff has been crazy as well. i'm in two escrows right now, and had a big deal close in july. our team has some cool houses on the market as well. the market is overall on the slower side, with buyers having the advantage. good houses are still getting multiple offers, though. i was among 10 offers on an a. quincy jones midcentury that i wrote on for clients. bidding wars are alive and well, lmao.
— emotionally….i'm doing OK, but feeling pretty frazzled. it's been hard living in a construction site this summer! i honestly haven't had a permanent home base that felt good and right and dialed since topanga, which feels like a lifetime ago. i'm wishing that i could be more outside and in nature than i am. i'm missing my family a lot, and honestly missing my future bf. because while the new wave feminist, badass woman side of me is like YES! I CAN LUGG THE GROCERIES INSIDE AND KILL THE BUGS AND DO ALL THE THINGS! there's this other side of me that for once, would love to have someone to do them with. and since most of my friend circle skews older, i'm often the only single one at the function. i have to actively stifle the pangs of longing that i feel when talking to my friends about their partners - walking the line between feeling happy and aching. ANYWAYS PACK IT UP SAM THAT'S ENOUGH VULNERABILITY FOR TODAY LOL.
— i know that the me of a few years from now is going to look back and be like wow, girl, you really did that all on your own-you won't always have to, but it's pretty badass that you're doing it anyways.
— in terms of what's coming up … continually on the hunt with my slew of buyers. prepping houses with the team to launch.
— if you're looking to buy a wood house elsewhere in CA + the US, there's a good chance i can refer you to an agent in your city. referrals are a great way to support me. whenever i send a client to one of my cool out-of-area agent friends, i actually receive a portion of that commission! and like most things in life, a recommendation from a friend is the way to go. if that's you, respond to this email and i'd be happy to connect you.
— as always, with the houses i feature below, if you're interested in more details, respond to this email.
— talk to you soon, and sending love.
xx,
sam
