New to USA and Seattle

[Bevan Daniels]

I am new to the USA and looking to buy my first house to buy, repair, hold and rent out. I’m currently renting in Seattle close to my work, however as we now work from home it has opened opportunity for living anywhere in Washington. Question here is where to start looking so I can pin down a real estate agent for a particular area and market. Any advise would be great.

I’m looking to get in under 200k including restorations if any.

[Michael Haas]

Welcome to Seattle & the states @Bevan Daniels!

Just a clarification - is $200,000 the cash available for the down payment and renovation, or the total property price and renovation budget? Typically BRRRR deals are paid for one of three ways:

Cash: Full purchase price in Cash, or Hard Money / Private Money Loan. Works great for heavy fixer that may not pass bank financing.

20-25% down: Standard investment loan. Good for cosmetic fixers or turnkey properties that can pass bank financing (aka are at least "livable" as is)

5% down (or even less!): This would require owner occupancy (aka for you to move into the home for at least one year), as low down-payment options are only available when you plan to live in the house. You can live there for a year then move and rent it out as a rental property, or live there and rent rooms / units as part of the house to reduce or eliminate your mortgage payment ("Househacking").

Feel free to reach out over BP messages anytime with questions or to grab a coffee and chat!

[Bevan Daniels]

Hi Michael, thanks for the feedback. I’m looking at 20% down payment and then owner occupy for about 6 months to a year to save up another down payment for the next property. I will only rent out the house after I move out. 

The 200k is the total budget for the property price.