All Forum Posts by: Kevin E.

As I have stated in another post I am looking to purchase an investment property (1st as strictly investment) and one of the options I am looking into is a turnkey property. I would go with someone with a good reputation around BP but that isn't good enough for my wife and she thinks we need to hire a buyer's agent for any purchase we make.  Is this how the turnkey process works or are we expected to go directly through the turnkey company?

I understand that most, if not all, turnkey companies charge a premium for their services and renovations at time of purchase but are there normally contracts (or should there be) in place to ensure they stay there for X amount of years? I believe mutually beneficial arrangements are best and would love to pay a premium for piece of mind that a reputable company renovated and is now taking care of my investment but would hate to pay that premium just to have someone walk away laughing all the way to the bank.

Would somebody out there be willing to walk me through the purchase process of a turnkey property?

I want to start out by first saying thank you BP for providing a platform for the new and uninformed like myself to ask questions during the starting out phase.

Scenario: I am currently refinancing 2 properties I have (1 rental / 1 primary) to pull money out for a down payment on my next property and gain positive cashflow on my rental.  We will be pulling $40k +/- out and intent to reinvest it.

Problem: While we would love to stay local and try our hand at managing our own place we live in Camas, WA (near Portland, OR) and housing prices are rather high that wouldn't allow for much with only $40k down.

Goals: Invest for cashflow in an area that has a strong economy and has a positive outlook in the job market for the foreseeable future.

Possibilities: Wait and save a bigger down payment for a better local property, purchase a lower end property in the Vancouver, WA area that produces little cashflow but can benefit from Portland's growth, or invest out of state with a turnkey company.

I am leaning towards the out of state option as I may even have enough to purchase more than one property but my wife gets a little nervous investing in an area that we don't or have never lived.  I would love to hear the communities thoughts on this, can anyone help guide my decision???

@Wesley Adams I moved down from Anchorage (Army) Nov 2013 to Camas, WA.  The draw to Camas for me was the schools and an easy commute to work (PDX).  Good points in @Marcia Maynard post above!

@Drew Mim Mack we should make that happen sometime.  I'll have to convince my wife to let me step away from daddy duties for a bit!

Welcome!  I wish I had wisdom to share but I am still in the initial capital building phase myself looking to invest in Vancouver/Camas area.

Sounds to me like you are making the right choice by just setting up your own. I would be very interested in hearing how your dive into REI turns out. I also live in Camas and have just started the process of refinancing my primary residence as well as my rental in Anchorage, AK to pull money out and be ready to jump on a deal when I find one. Did you see the nice duplex that was just on the market in Camas? That was what inspired the wife and I to get our ducks in a row as we don't see many good opportunities in our area.

@Brett Lee 

My biggest hurdle is finding where to start without putting the well being of my family in jeopardy.  I am truly interested in the under $50k turnkey options in Ohio as we have plenty enough for a down payment there but my wife has many fears that go along with not knowing the areas.  As much as I would love to trust everyone in these forums we would want to verify their reputations with other professionals in their respective areas but don't know how to go about doing that.  The biggest fear is sinking $10-15k into one of these as a down payment trusting the seller just to have a house that falls apart next year, tenants that stop paying, or the in place PM walk away and leave us high and dry.

Thank you for your insight Jessica, I wouldn't have thought that the listing could be wrong due to HUD not having updated info. Do busy streets generally equate to lower rent or harder to rent to?

While looking at local listings in the Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA area I found a couple that stood out.  As a new investor with a growing family and no down payment I figured I would pass these listings on in hopes of being able to tag along and see how a seasoned investor evaluates, lands, and manages something like this.

The first place is in Vancouver, WA and is listed at $124k.  In my research it looks as though similar units in the area fetch $1100 - 1200/mo rent.  The thing that seems a bit odd with this listing is the listed sqft.  The listing indicates a 2/1 1664sqft unit while public record shows 3/1.5 864 finished with 800sqft unfinished.  The similar rentals in the area are based off 2/1 864 sqft, is it possible to finish the basement and get 2 for 1 out of this?  Listing:

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Vancouver/2514-Franklin-St-98660/home/14566699

The second place is in Camas, WA where I currently live.  The unit is 3/1 $130k 1168sqft.  It looks like it can use some updating but the area is VERY desirable and this unit can get $1300 - 1400/mo and most likely bring in long term family tenants.  The school district is the best around and this is right next to a great park. Listing:

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Camas/215-NE-14th-Ave-98607/home/14629424

If anyone familiar with this area find these to be a good purchase and decide to jump on one can you please show me the ways?

Thank you!

@Jay Hinrichs 

I love reading your posts on here as they always tend to keep my focus grounded and local.  Anytime I find my mind wandering afar for the out of state properties I find one of your posts that straighten me out.  I need to get used to the idea of building equity to invest in the right place rather than use what little I have right now for the wrong place that I could lose my shirt on.