All Forum Posts by: Kevin E.

I get so excited everytime I see a post about this region so I can get a feels for what others right in my backyard are going through. 

 @Michele Fischer I have noticed that Vancouver is a tough place to find good cashflow as well. I have seen some good properties come up on the MLS but they are scooped up within a day or 2 which would be another reason to follow the advice of @Kenneth Hynes and tour homes frequently. 

After seeing so many homes you are probably better positioned to jump on a deal before someone else does.  In addition to keyword alerts for BP I also have criteria alerts on Redfin to see when properties are listed that fit my desired criteria, which is still just for research and info as I don't yet have the capital to jump on them.

Would you all mind if a newbie potentially sits in for the learning experience?  I would love to start attending meetups if the wife will let me break away from the family for a couple hours.

@Filip Vaco 

If I could do it again I would have got a multifamily as my first purchase. We purchased our first home using a VA loan while I was in Afghanistan and since getting out bought our second also on VA. I had a few children for the second round so I couldn't go for the multi. Bottom line, if I could do it over my first would have been a 2-4plex.

@Jeremy Davis  and Filip - I prefer the life of the airborne pogue over any LEG!  HAHA

@Roy Schauer I have a rental property in Anchorage right off the Glen and Turpin (between Turpin and Boniface).  I bought it when I was in the Army and decided to rent it out once I got out.  The area seems great for rentals due to all the military families in the area.  You know they will continue to pay!

Brittany, I agree with you about the excitement of real estate as an investment vehicle. I am new to the Portland area as well (Washington side) and see alot of growth in the area. The downtown Portland area seems like a flippers paradise while the Vancouver area appears to be a great rental property market. This is however, coming from a newbie just trying to get started himself. Good luck in your ventures and I hope to read about a success story here on BP in the future.

Thank you all for such quick responses, it is great to have found this community online with such a wealth of knowledge. @Patrick Britton that is great info to hear. I briefly spoke to someone from Quicken loans that indicated 2 years but had read elsewhere that's not needed so I appreciate the feedback from someone that can speak from the lending side of things.

All of these responses have been able to breathe new life into my RE dream. My wife and U know we can handle another place if the right deal presents itself, we were just worried about having to wait 2 more years until we could show that to a bank.

I have been looking for meetups in the area and will be keeping my eyes open for opportunities. Patrick, I may be in touch if something comes up!

I know this thread is many months old but now living in Camas, WA it is nice to see alot of support around the area.  Now that time has passed since you posted this are there any resources you could point me towards since I am starting out in the area too?

I also have twins (7mo boy/girl) and a 3yo boy so I can relate to wanting to build a foundation for the kids!

Hello all.  I just wanted to give an introduction and see what advice is out there and potentially meet others in my area.  I am trying to get going with RE investing and don't quite know where to go or if I am just a little too ambitious at this time.

I recently (last year) got out of the Army and relocated my family of 5 to southern WA to start laying down roots and purchased my second house here, the first is being rented out in AK. I have been looking for a way to grow my portfolio but need some guidance on where I should look and what I should be on the lookout for. The rental in AK is in a great rental market where vacancies are typically less (much less) than 2 weeks but due to having such a short rental history it still counts against our DTI.

The questions I have would be: how long do I typically need to wait before the rent counts towards my income rather than against me as a debt? Is there a good next step that could keep my family located in our current house? We are currently building our savings each month in addition to paying down our car payment to also help our DTI.

Thank you all in advance.