Investing in B.C.'s lower mainland (Greater Vancouver)

[Matthew Jarvis]

Hi Guys, I'm a real estate investor from White Rock, BC. My wife & I just bought a house out here 6 months ago and the market has gone nuts since (but then again, when hasn't it?). I also own 2 trailer parks in Indiana which have done quite well. Together my business partner and I have over 120 tenants. But I am also looking to find something a little closer to home. Market here is just so tough to get in for anything multi-family (or even single family really) that's under $1 Million. But I've done the out of province, out of country and out of time zone investing and would like to try and find something that I can drive to if need be. I've started looking a little deeper into the Everett (Snohomish County) area. Also, to stay on this side of the border I'm looking into the Surrey, Langley, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Ladner, and White Rock areas as well. Any thoughts & comments would be greatly appreciated :)?

[Account Closed]

@Matthew Jarvis Everett is a great place to invest! All 28 of my units are in Everett. Prices have been soaring in recent years like everywhere but so have rents and the future of the city is very strong. 

Here are the main economic drivers happening in Downtown or North Everett where we invest right now:

The comprehensive growth plan for Everett, WA (https://everettwa.gov/1395/2035-Comprehensive-

Plan) has lofty goals of increase the population of Everett by 61,000 people from 2015-2035. If you click the link above you will see that three of the four Subarea Plans are located in Downtown Everett.

There has been a lot of activity taking place to revitalize the downtown corridor in the last five years. If you drive down Rucker, Grand or Colby you will see gorgeous new apartment complexes, hotels and store fronts. Much of these projects are summarized below:

 ArtSpace Lofts / 40 units for independent artists to rent/use

 Library Place Townhomes and Apartments / 121 units completed / Mixed Use

 Aero Apartments / 102-unit luxury apartments / Mixed Use

 Performing Arts Plaza / Kids Stage

 Potala Village Apartments / 100 units completed / Mixed Use

 Potala Farmer’s Market / Year round 60,000 sq ft indoor market / 220 luxury apartments above

 Hampton Inn / 110-unit Hampton in adjacent to Potalla Farmer’s Market

 City StreetScape renovations on Hoyt & California / Completed

 Schack Art Center / Completed

 New Marriott Hotel with Mixed Use below

 See for more info http://www.downtowneverettwa.org

Aside from all of these above projects is the expansion happening at Everett Community College. Since I attended the college in 2002-03 the college itself has nearly doubled in size. They have added three new buildings. To do so they purchased and tore down several of the “slummier” apartments or hotels nearby for the necessary space. Much of north Broadway has been cleaned up thanks to the college. The biggest news however is the four story, 95,000 sq ft $55M building Washington State University is constructing on the EvCC campus http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20150923/NEWS01/150929616 .

They broke ground in Sept 2015 with plans to be in operation for the 2017 school year. This expansion has in turn caused more construction in the area with a 120-unit student housing facility being built on 10th and Broadway, right behind the new Starbucks that opened up in late 2014. Speaking of new Starbucks you should definitely read this article about investing around new Starbucks.

http://www.wyattresearch.com/article/starbucks-real-estate-investment-strategy/

I know much of this like the back of my hand so if you have any follow up questions, please don’t

hesitate to ask!