All Forum Posts by: Aaron Farr

I would say it wouldn't be a bad idea to do some of the grunt work on your first couple of projects but I would leave the skilled labor to professionals.  The best way to save money is to act as the general and hire subs to do the work.  Once you scale up this wouldn't be practical and you would want to find a general contractor or hire a project manager to oversee the jobs.

Hi Tiffany, welcome to Spokane!  I believe Spokane is on the rise and will continue to trend that way for the foreseeable future.  It's not much of a hidden gem anymore and therefore a lot of people are moving into the area.  Both for jobs and quality of life.  With the low inventory we are experiencing it does make it more difficult to find deals.  The key is to either: 

A. Do your own marketing to owners of homes to try and drum up a deal for yourself.  Essentially market like a wholesaler but the intention isn't to wholesale. 

or

B. Work with a realtor who isn't just relying on the MLS. I would say 70% of the deals that I find for my investor clients are off-market deals I come across from my connections.

I've personally flipped about 12 houses over the last couple of years and have now moved into development.

Choosing where you want to invest should depend on your strategy and goals.  Places like Ohio have great cash flow and not much appreciation and places like Seattle where you live have almost no cash flow but could have huge appreciation if you hit the market right.  I like finding places that have a happy medium of both.  Spokane, for example, has decent cash flow and has some good upside for appreciation as it grows.  150K is probably the lowest price you will find a duplex in Spokane and will probably need some work at that price.

Hey Jeffrey, the property taxes are taken care of at closing and typically comes out of the sellers' proceeds assuming they have equity.  If they do not have equity then I've seen it negotiated where the buyer will pay the back taxes.

Glad to help in any way I can Daniel.  I'm a Spokane agent and investor.  Shoot me a message and we can connect.

Welcome to BP Patrick!  I'm a Spokane agent and investor and would love to connect.  

I believe west central will see some more gentrification once Kendall Yards is completely built out.  Once all the condos, apartments, and commercial spaces are finished and filled there will be no choice but for it to start leaking out into the neighborhood.  So this is probably 3-5 years out in my opinion.   

Congrats @Jeff Wittig !  I bet it feels good to get that first flip under your belt!!

I'd highly recommend @Jeff Hornberger as well.  A second option is 4 degrees property management.  If you are looking to focus on students I've found it difficult to find a management company that specializes in this unique segment.

Spokane is a great option if you are looking for that middle ground of cash flow and appreciation.  People continue to move into the area causing very low vacancy and spikes in rental rates.