18 units in Desert Hot Springs

I wish I could have bought this property myself.

My fellow broker-extraordinaire, Dick DeCarlo, listed this vacant motel/spa in Desert Hot Springs for $530,000. It's in surprisingly good shape, on the bus line in a good neighborhood, and built with individual electric meters.

This property appears to be a great deal to me.

• On a "per-unit" basis, it's less than $30,000 a unit. (You couldn't build the building for that). 
• On a "per square foot" basis, same outcome. 
• On a gross rent multiplier measure, the projected rents would make this a great value. 
• On a "cap rate" basis, using reasonable estimates for income and expense, it would be a terrific purchase.

Here's the up-side. Buy it either with cash or get the seller to carry, fill it up with paying tenants, get a loan, fix it up, and sell it again in twenty four months at a seven cap.

Dick's got a couple of offers on the property already, so it's probably gone. But the California market has a lot of opportunity for people to make money with some work, some smart risk, and access to capital.