Looking into investing in duplexes in cities around Seattle

[Maria Burks]

Hi BP! I'm looking into purchasing some duplexes or multi-family in cities around Seattle, WA. I was thinking of selling my home in CA right now and using the money for the investment. Very scary as I'm new at all this so I'm trying to do my research and trying to do it well. How did you guys get started? How did you decide a specific location is a good place to invest if you are not local...

[Simon Wold]

Hey Maria-

I would recommend moving just south of Seattle into Tacoma, Lakewood, Olympia, etc.. I have been running numbers on every multifamily that comes on the MLS from Olympia to Marysville for about six months now, and have found that the best returns are always just south of Seattle.

Once you narrow down your area I would recommend finding an agent that knows the area like the back of their hand.  They will be able to give you advice on which areas / streets to avoid.

Are you going to move to Seattle? Why do you want to invest here? If you are going to be doing out of state investing, it might be worth looking into somewhere you can receive better cash flow at a lower cost.  Also keep in mind that Seattle becoming very tenant friendly.

Hans