Starting out investing in SFH on the Eastside (of Seattle)

[Charlene Atlas]

Hi Everyone, my name is Charlene, happy to be joining this community! My husband and I are looking to buy our first rental property. We have a big renovation coming up at our primary residence and we are trying to align getting our first rental with the reno, so that we can stay there for a few months during the construction, and then rent it out. 

I have been learning from the BiggerPockets podcasts/website and I am almost done with "The Book on Rental Property Investing". We have also already gotten a HELOC setup and ready and we are working with a lender now to get prepared with a preapproval letter.

However, I am having a lot of trouble finding deals in the area we want to be in. With the restriction of us needing to live there for a bit and needing to stay near work (Redmond) and school (Kirkland), it is hard to find anything that will cash flow. We are looking in the Redmond and Kirkland areas.

Is there any chance for us to find a positive cash flow investment in these areas for a SFH? We are working with a realtor to send us possible homes, but all my 50% rule and 2% test checks are coming back not great. Any tips? Thanks!