New Investor Looking to Network in Western Washington Area
Aaron NelsonBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Seattle, WA · Member since 2016 · 307 posts · 191 votes
White Coat Realty534 Reviews
New Investor Looking to Network in Western Washington Area
6 Replies
- Seattle, WA · Member since 2015 · 500 posts · 243 votes10y
Hello @Aaron Nelson and welcome to the site.
For networking events and opportunities, I would direct you to the Community>Networking Events tabs at the top of the page. @Troy Fisher, @Tiffany Plovie, @Kevin C. run the local meet-ups for the Eastside, Seattle, and Tacoma-Lakewood respectively.
Since you've already started to focus in on rental properties in the Puget Sound region, I would recommend you start looking into budgeting. Realistically speaking, what sort of financial commitment are you willing to make to your first investment (and keep in mind, this is not some sort of challenge. I know that I did not allocate anywhere NEAR as much as I could have to my first investment because I wanted to limit my exposure in a new field). Once you've determined your budget, work backwards from there with the assumption that you'll be putting 25% down on the property, and that you need to budget for potential repairs, closing costs, and basic investment start-up costs.
When you have your budget, or possibly before you've determined a budget, I would contact a real estate agent who can sit down with you and start looking at price points in different areas that you are interested in. Be prepared by having a basic understanding of rental unit pricing and you're all set to find a list of potential that you can run numbers on to nail down what you'll offer on. If you would like an agent recommendation, I would be happy to message contact info for one who has a lot of energy, is an excellent communicator, and has a solid network of the basic contacts you would expect of an agent.
Cheers, and good luck!
- Real Estate Agent · Seattle, WA · Member since 2016 · 307 posts · 191 votes10y
Thanks, Alex! I will look into those meet-up groups and hope to attend one soon. I'm still looking to build a strong support team and would love a recommendation for a good Real Estate agent who enjoys working with investors.
Might I ask if you have a certain dollar amount you recommend allocating for a first-time rental property? It generally seems the nicer (or larger) the property, the greater the investment but I know there are also deals to be had. My goal is have roughly $50K of liquid capital available once I am ready to buy but I am curious if you feel that's too much/little. Ideally, I'd like to find something that will provide a Cash on Cash ROI of at least 8% but am not sure if that's realistic given the area and current market.
Any thoughts are appreciated!
White Coat Realty534 Reviews - San Francisco, CA · Member since 2015 · 786 posts · 717 votes10y
Welcome to BP. Best wishes!
- Specialist · Kirkland, WA · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 817 votes10y
There are a bunch of Investor Friendly Agents around, the question is are they Investor Smart? Having an agent who wants to work with volume buyers is a good thing, but it doesn't work if they don't understand your goals and just send you a random list every morning. If they don't know how to calculate NOI's and understand investing you are better off finding an eager new agent who is working hard to get some deals done.
I believe, and I'm sure the two awesome guys above me will agree, that one of the best support teams you can have is a great network of other investors, who are willing to talk to you, look over deals with you and can share their experience, Looking forward to meeting you soon!
- Investor · Everett, WA · Member since 2014 · 180 posts · 76 votes10y
@Aaron Nelson Welcome to the site! It seems you have a general idea of what you want to do and are ready to take some actionable steps. While it is wise to network and build your connections, I think you will build the useful knowledge just shopping and comparing what's in the markets you wish to enter.
Meetups are nice but it really depends on who shows up and who you feel can connect to you. A sure-fire way to start on the right track is to go straight to a lender and see what you can get approved for. 50K will not buy you a house in the areas you've listed, but can cover the down payment and closing costs for many homes. If your income/credit situation is decent, you should have plenty of options in that price range. First step is to talk to a lender and get pre approved for a purchase. You can PM me for local lender recommendations. Ive shopped around last few years and have a good feel for many of the big/medium names in the area.
Once you find your maximum purchase price and talk a little with the lender on what to expect for closing fees, then it is time to find an agent. If you haven't found an investor friendly agent at this point, no worries! While an investor friendly agent can possibly find you good off-market deals, I don't think you should depend on it. The way I see it, a seasoned RE agent specializing in investor clients probably has plenty of big money clients lined up to buy their deals before they find them. In this market, you get a lot of new agents claiming to be investor friendly simply because you are an investor and they want to make your sale. I had a recent agent tell me he works with investors all the time and he just helped a couple secure 47% cash on cash return on an owner occupied condo in Mukilteo. I asked for details. He had NO EXPENSES factored because the building was "pretty much brand new built in 2010." He also counted principal payments as cash on cash return. So be very careful who claims to be an investor in this area, the UP market makes everyone look smart for a minute.
Before investing time in finding off market deals, I would scout the MLS lisitngs for a few months just to get a feel. Redfin is my favorite site but Zillow works just as well. You can set alerts so that you get an email every time a home goes for sale, sells, changes prices, or has any other status change. You can draw boundaries on a map and only get the listings from the exact neighborhoods you want. It really is a great tool and after tracking purchases for 2-3 months you will know what is a relative good/bad deal without having to spend a dollar.
At this point, you will have a clear understanding of what is / is not possible and can set/adjust your strategy from there. It will be clear what you need help with and what you can figure out by yourself. This will make it much easier to find lenders/agents that fit your strategy.
Hope this helps! Good luck on your search!
- Investor · Tacoma, WA · Member since 2014 · 54 posts · 11 votes10y
Welcome to BP, I wish you great success...
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