Ready to get started in Portland Oregon

[James Ayers]

Hello real estate investing geniuses!  I'm from Portland Oregon and have recently become interested in buying some small multi-family properties in Oregon / SW Washington to supplement my income and provide some wealth for retirement.  I work at full time job and have a family with two small kids so finding time is not easy, but somehow my wife and I have managed to read several books and listen to several podcasts in the last few weeks.  We're both having a great time learning about the seemingly endless possibilities in real estate.

I'm starting to see the harsh reality of the current state of the Portland area real estate market.  It seems overall prices are high and rents are...  high, but not high enough.  As a beginner I'm finding that good cash-flowing properties are not easy to find these days so I'm interested to hear what people from my area are doing to to maximize returns.  

[Jay Hinrichs]

For prime west coast properties  as long as you break even or mitigate your negative.. the big money is made in appreciation over time and your tenants paying off your mortgage..

To not invest in the prime markets because your tying to make 200 a month or something cash flow wise I think investors are a little short sighted there.. for one 200 a month for most investors really does not register as any real benefit that is tangible.. and of course properties that cash flow best with 20% or so down are not usually in prime areas and therefor are not as good of long term holds.

Now if your investing in markets that do not appreciate over time or very very little then of course cash flow is the ONLY reason to buy those.. other than having someone pay off your mortgage.

remember that prime west coast assets are also extremely liquid in normal markets.. IE they can be listed and sold on MLS in a matter of weeks or a couple of months.. were you get into secondary or tertiary markets and this may not be the case...

So look at the whole picture ,,, determine how long you want to be in the landlording business.. and if you need to sell can you for what you have in it extra..