All Forum Posts by: Ben Lukes

@Isi Nau Very helpful, thank you.  Do you have any thoughts on which island is best from an investor's perspective?  I'll definitely keep you in mind if we start to get serious about buying a place.  Right now I think we'd be limited to paying around $300k for an investment property, so we might have to wait a bit.

@Duc Ong Is the risk related to the pandemic, or something else?  I definitely see the pandemic as a short-term risk.

@Duc Ong do you own any vacation rentals on Oahu?  My wife and I just got interested in the idea and are looking for more information about it.  Many thanks.

@Isi Nau I know it's been a few years, but can an investor still make decent returns on Oahu with a vacation rental?  My wife and I just recently became interested in the idea and would like to learn more about it.  Some quick searches seem to indicate that the market in Oahu is somewhat unique (rules limiting short term rentals, lots of leaseholds, etc.).  Any insight you can provide is much appreciated.  What would be a reasonable price range for a 1-bedroom unit that allows STVRs?

It's been about a year since I used this feature, so I don't remember the exact details, but I just had to switch to a different browser and/or operating system to get it to work.  After doing that it worked flawlessly.

That said, I think this feature has been discontinued...is anyone else having the same experience?  The Zillow rental manager has totally changed how you post a listing, and I don't see a Craigslist option anywhere.

Also, the tenant is breaking the Airbnb agreement by renting out their unit without permission.

I’ve heard there can be major insurance (and possibly liability) issues in situations like this. You should check with your insurance agent and if there is additional cost you should pass it on to your tenant. They are turning a profit (most likely), breaking the terms of their lease, and you have every right to kick them out, so they shouldn’t be too upset over covering the additional insurance cost (if any). In addition, there may be issues for your lender if you have a mortgage. Some people require the tenant to share profits with them, but that’s up to you.

@Wes Stange not only are the prices in Seattle proper intimidating, but so is the regulatory environment. With talk of rent control it certainly could get even worse. Of course these are hurdles that can be overcome, but why bother if you are just investing in small properties.

Excellent, thank you @Rachel Luoto

I believe that if it is a true foreclosure being sold at an auction they will only accept cash (never purchased at an auction myself).  Of course it doesn't have to be your cash, but traditional banks won't lend on a foreclosure AFAIK.

King County records are really great and easy to access online.  If a property was purchased with a mortgage then there would typically be a record of the mortgage with the same or similar date as the purchase.  I've only ever done this on a case-by-case basis, so I'm not sure if there is a way to easily look at a bunch of properties all at once.  King County does have some data hubs that may allow you to download that data en masse.  If not, there are 3rd party list companies that have that data.

I used to access the records by locating the property on Parcel Viewer (http://gismaps.kingcounty.gov/parcelviewer2/), but it looks like the behavior changed recently (still lots of good information, so take a look - once you locate and click on the property, click on Property Report then Property Detail).

Instead go directly to the records website (https://recordsearch.kingcounty.gov/LandmarkWeb/Home/Index) and search by the parcel number.  That will bring up any deeds of trust letting you know if a mortgage was used to purchase the property.