All Forum Posts by: Micah Truman

Hello BP Community!

Would love to hear what people think is going to happen in Seattle with the upcoming Airbnb regulations slated to be approved by the city council in October.  

My understanding of the situation is as follows;

1)  The city council currently appears in favor of allowing up to 2 Airbnb rentals per owner

2)  There may be special urban zones that could be exempted from the 2 unit limit.

My question is in regards to #2 above.  Do people think that the city is going to allow unlimited airbnb rentals in specific urban Seattle zones?  What zones have been proposed?  What is the chance of this passing?

Very curious to hear what you all think.

Thanks everyone!  Micah

Got it.  Will really get familiar with this.  Thanks again.

Thanks @Sharon Vornholt.  Does master lease well in hot markets?

Thanks very much @Curt Smith and @Sharon Vornholt for your responses.  My deepest apologies for being slow in coming back to you.  I somehow missed the notification.

Curt I take your point about buying a list of MF owners, as most properties are owned by LLCs, and are not easily reachable.  I am currently on the hunt for reliable lists that I can use to contact them.  

Sharon thanks a ton for the introduction to Bill Walston.  I will reach out to him now to see if I can get hold of him.  Just read a bunch of material on the lease option method, and it looks like a super interesting way to bridge the gap between a somewhat unrealistically high seller asking price, and an equally unrealistic low offer from the buyer.

All the best, Micah

OK, time to jump in.  I have been a lurker on this thread for ages now, and have read through it repeatedly.  Hands down the best real estate marketing/DM thread that I know of anywhere.  My deepest thanks to everyone who has contributed.

Now, my situation - I am not a wholesaler or flipper.  I am a buy and hold MF investor in Seattle WA.  

I started buying MF properties in 2011, and picked up 4 between 2011 and early 2014.  It's been a great ride, and BP has been my go-to resource throughout the whole process.  I started out not knowing what multifamily investing was, and now feel capable of making offers for MF properties within 30 minutes of reviewing the rent roll.  In fact 2 of my properties were bought by submitting an offer in 90 minutes to highly motivated sellers.

That said, I was lucky.  I began buying in the crash, and great deals were everywhere.  Them days ain't no more, and if I want to purchase more properties I am going to need to change my game plan in a major way.  

In reading this thread, I noticed that most of the participants are focused on using DM for fix and flip, or wholesaling. All great businesses, but nonetheless different from what I do.  That said, it seems to me that direct marketing to buy mid sized (8-20 unit) apartment buildings to renovate and hold would work just as well as DM campaigns focused on quick fix and flip or wholesale transactions.

Which brings me to my current set of questions.

1)  Do you all think it makes sense for me to run a 6 month DM campaign focused on buying 8-20 unit apartment buildings in the Seattle area?  I only need one transaction a year to meet my current acquisition goals.

2)  I notice that many of you often make an all cash, discounted offer to motivated sellers.  In the case of a larger apartment building, this will be impossible.  I would naturally be able to put down a substantial down payment, but will definitely not be able to pay all cash.  Will this be a problem?

3)  Are there any BP folks who have gone after the 8-20 unit apartment market with a DM campaign, and killed it? Would love to hear your story.  

Thanks in advance to everyone, and hope these questions aren't horribly amateur.

Hello Nicole,

I agree with @Matt Burr - the architectural cost you are paying is very low.  I actually think that it is low enough that you should be a little concerned.  It is good to get a cheap price, but at a certain point this becomes dangerous.  As an example, if someone is selling a $200 car, there's no question that you got a cheap deal.  The issue then becomes whether you can drive it without killing yourself (or anyone else).

We built a house in Seattle, and paid 12% of total construction cost to the architect.   Costs are substantial because an architect's work does not end when the house is designed.  Once construction crews come on board, there are dozens of questions that come up weekly that need to be dealt with by the architect.  If this is not done, then the construction worker on site will probably take matters into his/her hands, and do what they think is best.  This may very well be NOT what you want, and changing it to something that you would like could cost thousands of dollars.

As an example, what if the porch railing is set at 3 feet, but the construction worker notices that there are issues with the joint where it meets the wall?  Should he/she just do it anyway? Should they lower the rail?  By how much? Now multiply these questions by 50, and you can see how things can come off the rails pretty quickly.

A good architect will not just design the house, but also shepherd it through the construction process.  This takes time, which in turn costs more than one would initially expect.

Just my 10 cents.

I am looking for an experienced property management company to manage 13 units we own in North Seattle.  We own 3 duplexes (each is 3 beds, 1-2 baths), and a 7-plex (1-2 beds, all 1 bath).

Qualified companies will have;

- at least 3 years experience in property mgmt.

- ability to use (or learn) Buildium property mgmt CRM system

- be able to provide 3 customer references (I will check them)

- Have experience managing properties in the Seattle area

Pls PM me if interested.

Thanks to all, Micah 

@Steve Babiak yup have heard of these folks. WIll get looking. Thanks!

@Account Closed - I never found anyone who knew how to set the system up. In the end, we just figured it all out, and called the help desk when we had questions.

@Bill Exeter - thanks for your note. Actually, have never heard of a reverse 1031. Will look into it. I would guess that I will need to retain the help of a specialized 1031 focused constant group, but that is quite doable.

Best, Micah