All Forum Posts by: Uwe G.

100% agree with @James Dishongh.  That post was spot on.

@susan tran Please look at the message I sent you.  I called out some neighborhoods to check out.  You can search using those on Redfin.

Hi @Joel W. given you have stated you want to be conservative I would think about paying off the current mortgage. Given the standard tax deduction is $24,400 for married filing jointly there isn't any tax benefits in having a primary mortgage of 320K. You would need your property taxes and interest significantly above 24,400 to benefit. Then once you have paid it off you can open a first position HELOC and strategically use that money to buy investments and help fund down payments. It will keep discipline as you will need to make sure your cap rate you are buying at is higher then your HELOC to justify the investment. You can shift the interest to your investments PNL and work with our accountant to insure you get the full write off. Let me know if you ever want to connect. I live and invest in Vancouver, WA and enjoy offering whatever advice or opinions people might want to hear.

Now, I would start looking for deals now and if you do find one that is too hard to pass up then make it happen.  Shouldn't be difficult with your debt to income ratio.  But in the short term keep paying down that debt...hard to go bust that way.  I started out exactly the same way your are.

@Justin K. For future reference, your rents for the Vancouver duplex seemed low.  I am guessing by the price, rents, and size that it is most likely in the Rose Village area or nearby Clark College. If that is the case, we collect any where from 1195 to 1395 per side on those style of duplexes.  I am not sure if that will stand but that is what it was before the COVID19 outbreak.  Longterm this is an excellent place to own property given it is so close in.

Overall you will want your investment to at least cashflow but if you are only putting 5% down that is much more difficult and you have to weigh the overall return on your 5% invested and the potential for equity gain.  If you are living on one side I feel you have much more wiggle room as you get a slightly better rate and it satisfies your place to live.  Under that circumstance you are really subsidizing your own living costs until you are ready to move out.  Also, if you are able to make improvements with sweat equity while you live their you will be able to fetch much higher rents going forward.

@Account Closed Where is local for you?  Are you doing this in Clark County, WA or in Missouri somewhere?  Either way that is a great response and hopefully that brings you opportunities

@Chris Williams That is probably just a unique situation and not the norm.  Agents still are pricing stuff all over the place from what I can see.  Most overprice but I also see stuff underpriced and those go pending within a day or two.  Inventory is relatively low and according to Redfin Data March inventory was 20% lower then the previous year.  This is keeping prices stable for now.  If we do see issues from the economy weakening I would think that would play out over the next 24 months.  I think it would take a while for the market to turn as there aren't too many vacant homes from what I can tell in Clark County WA.

@Susan Tan, 

A lot can go wrong being that you end up with no job at all.  I would call the plan far from bulletproof but the idea is worth exploring.  Ideally if you can keep your same job and just work remotely from OR or WA that would be ideal.

If you are not familiar with the areas and where you want to live yet I recommend you rent for the first year.  It will take a while to find the right agent that understands your investment objectives as I see many houses selling at prices that don't make good investments

Keep in mind that the state of WA has 0% income tax whereas OR has almost 10% income tax.  So if you work from home a place in Vancouver or close in suburbs might be a good place to start out while saving on the income tax while you figure out your exact location.

I would target a house with an ADU over a multi-family property. I find that multi-family is mostly in less desirable areas and is more expensive (less cashflow because being sold at lower cap rates) then a single family home. You will have to search and search to find a fair deal but there is far more inventory of deals on the single family front then in multi-family. This is specific to Clark County, WA. I don't follow what is going on in Oregon.

@Charlie Kazmar Looks like Premiere Property Group is a good starting point.  I would jump in and not overthink it (you can swith easily if needed).  Also realize that the success of the mentorship lies in your hands.  So anything you can do to help out your mentor (i.e. Open Houses) then they will help you out in return.  Take your mentor to coffee and pay for it.  Come prepared with exact questions you need answered and ask questions about how you can best self serve.  Partner with agents, so do most of the work with their guidance and split the commission with them.  You will need to incentivize people to work with you and teach you.  

Build a relationship with a title company and fine a resource there that will help educate you.  They are constantly offering stuff like that.  Also, attend local meetups because like minded folks are at these that enjoy mentoring.

@Charlie Kazmar, that is great you were able to find a Property Manager that works for you.  Extremely important for scaling your investing.

With your license are you using it more to acquire properties for yourself or also act as an agent for others?  Maybe Jenny at YQC will let you hang your hat there?  I feel that no brokerage is really going to help you that much...it is more about you seeking the help you need from professionals in the industry.  That can be in your brokerage or even outside your brokerage.  I would go with the lowest fee structure that fits your business model.  Unless you are specializing in the luxury market I don't think the brokerage matters....what matters is the individual.

Let me know if you every want to chat over the phone or meetup locally (when it is safe to do so).  I like meeting up with folks that have similar interests and goals within real estate.

@Charlie Kazmar, I have heard eXp Realty and Premiere Property Group have the lowest rates to hang your hat.  I would be more focused on picking the best cost structure and then roaming free to network with agents from all different brokerages.  As for property management do a lot more research to make sure you land at one that provides your needs at the right value.  Look at all the fees charged.