All Forum Posts by: Uwe G.

Hi @Patty Arville, I am local to Vancouver, WA like @Steve Milford. All of the advice mentioned above is a great start. I am a buy, hold, and rent investor that focuses on cashflow. I used to own part of a property management company as well and learned a ton from that journey. I would be more then happy to get on a zoom call (or meetup locally) and help in anyway I can. I really enjoy mentoring and listening/learning from others as well. I don't have long distance experience but a lot of the principles are the same. Also, your timing is great as I foresee opportunities ahead. I am erroring on the side of caution and expecting both rents and prices to decrease in our local market which will lead to the opportunities.

@Travis Athougies I would avoid a duplex as the locations for most are in locations that are not very desirable to live. I think your price point would work for a new build with ADU so that is an option to look into if you are fine with Ridgefield which is just north of Vancouver. Otherwise I like the other comments surrounding a single family 1 story ranch with room for an ADU later.

Hi @AJ Shepard and @Jonathan Manacchio

I agree using a rent to sales price approach is a great first filter. Then once you have filtered down that have a decent ratio then focus on calculating the cap rate. It is actually a very easy calculation on a single family or small multi-family. For rents always do your own research and work with a 3rd party not tied to the transaction. Contact your property manager as they have this information readily available and rents are pretty standard for locations and the "class" of the building. Your insurance agent should be able to provide a high level estimate, factor in your property management fee (even if you self-manage), put in your vacancy %, get property taxes from county online, determine who pays utilities and the costs, factor in a maintenance budget, and a capex for large future items. I feel if you don't calculate the cap rate then you run the risk of being negatively leveraged in reality if you are using debt.

If the rents are above market proceed with caution or don't proceed (Use the low end of a rent range, don't sandbag but be conservative/smart). If rents are below market use that for your calculation knowing you can improve the cap rate by bringing rents to market making the investment compelling.

@Jonathan Manacchio Portland is actually becoming cheaper then Vancouver in a lot of areas as Vancouver has appreciated a lot. On the entire average Portland is still more expensive but when you compare the less desirable areas against each other it appears Portland is cheaper. Regarding multi-family, it is very scare to find anything. Most things 4 units or less are overpriced in my opinion and very hard to find them in good locations. I would expect true Cap Rates in the 4 to 5% range. A 5% cap rate is really hard to find as I frequently search. Hope that little bit of information helps.

Hi all,

My wife and I invest locally in Vancouver, WA. Would be more then happy to share ideas and network.

@JJ P. I am not a huge expert on the south Oregon Coast but I know the weather is slightly better and mirrors that of northern CA. The coast and topography is absolutley beautiful. If you can pick up vacation style properties near Bandon Dunes that has a cult like following for annual trips. I have heard supply is limited to very nice vacation rentals. Samual H Boardman Scenic Area near Brookings looks amazing.  I have never been but was turned onto researching Brookings when I ran into a National Geographic wildlife photographer that travels all over the world and he said that was his favorite place he has ever photographed. Houses on the cliffs with ocean views (world class views reminding me of the 17 mile drive) in Brookings do seem reasonably priced but I am not sure on the demand to make that pencil.  I know the fishing and crabbing is good which is a hobby I wish I did more of but has nothing to do with the investment thesis. I dream of having a getaway house like that.

@JJ P. The coasts do not offer consistent job opportunities and have very little density.  So from a buy and hold perspective your best bet is vacation properties and there are folks that do really well in that area but it is not easy.  Our current times make it tougher.  Longterm I do believe the real estate on the coasts will become more and more valuable but I would also argue that for this to happen areas with the jobs will first increase in value to drive up the rural areas and coasts.  Any rural properties that are within 20 minutes of the airport and/or downtown Portland or Vancouver are very attractive and strategic properties to pick up.  For example, you can drive 20-25 minutes from downtown Portland to the Sandy River and fish for salmon and steelhead and watch Bald Eagles fly above you.  You would think you were in the middle of no where but it is actually super close in.  Getting river property or acerage would be good.  The same concept exists in Clark County, WA as well.  Lots of properties with unobstructed mountain views with bald eagles soaring in the skys above.  Very beautiful place to live!

@Jeremy Barren Welcome to BP!  I am also an investor in the Portland Metro area but focus 100% in Clark County, WA.  I am partial to single family homes over multi-family in Clark County mainly due to the ability to find good value in good locations. I find it easier to find a good deal on a single family home vs multi-family.  I also believe if I were ever to sell I think a Single Family will sell to a retail buyer where multi-family typically sells to an investor.  I would prefer to sell to a retail buyer. I don't like multi-family because I don't like competing in the apartment space (1 and 2 bed units).  I belive multi-family can give you better cashflow diversification in the short term because 2 or 3 doors is better then one if you are dealing with vacancy. But if your plan is to accumulate a lot of doors then I don't think that argument matters much.  The oher thing about multi-family is it doesn't allow for location diversification or the ability to sell off one door if needed.  In general I think it is wise to buy properties in the same location (city) to build up scale so maybe the multi-family argument doesn't matter much regading lack of location diversification.  Be sure to pick your location within a city wisely.

Best of luck and if you have any questions feel free to reach out.  I have an extremely busy day job now that I am back in healthcare software but I enjoy helping folks as much as I can in my spare time.

Hi Armando, I would be more then happy to give you some ideas.  I invest in buy and holds and happy to share as much advice as needed.

Hi @Susan Tan,

I believe you can put an ADU on any single family lot (but this doesn't override HOA rules) as long as the lot and existing structure allows for the proper setbacks. The foot print of the existing structure limits your ADU to 50% of that. Your costs could very a lot based on the situation tapping into utilities. Focus on houses that are not in HOAs on larger lots that were built in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

Definitely do all your diligence and checkout the websites @James Dishongh has listed.