Getting started with real estate investing in Washington state

[Abhishek Prateek]

I am looking to get started in real estate investing. I live in Seattle area and have access to decent cash, with a good credit history. I am thinking of properties not too far away (say within WA state), either multi family or good single family unit, long term buy and hold (with rental). I want to start small, learn the ropes, and avoid taking large unnecessary risks.

Any advice on how to get started (meetup recommendations, reading suggestions, etc)? Also, would love to connect with folks with experience investing in WA.

[Michael Haas]

Congrats on deciding to get started Abhishek! In addition to what's already been mentioned, the Fixated on Real Estate meetups usually pretty good. If I were in your shoes again as a new investors I'd focus on two things:

1. learn your numbers - you need to know the returns, expenses, financing, etc numbers that make a deal work for you. You can waste a lot of time looking at bad properties if you don't have a good handle on your calculations.

2. find your competitive advantage- Seattle/King County are full of investors, and to stand out you're going to need to play to your strengths. Do you have cash, great financing or a w-2 that makes lending a breeze? Do you have the temperament and flexibility to do a house hack or a live-in renovation? Are you a great manager and have a phone full of reasonably priced labor and contractors for rehabs? Are you a systems guy ready to tackle property management? Do you love learning zoning and RRIO code and excel at building out extra dwelling units or renting existing units creatively to maximize rents? 

Once you have these two things figured out its time to pull the trigger!

We're in Seattle, feel PM me anytime if you'd like to grab a coffee and talk more about investing in this region. Cheers!