All Forum Posts by: Ben Lukes

I ordered an appraisal a couple/few months ago on a 4-plex in Tacoma that came in at $750. I also just had an appraisal done less than a month ago on a condo in Bremerton that ran $700. Neither appraisal was expedited. Hope that is helpful.

Very cool and inspiring post!  I hope I can get to where you are today in 3 years.

I briefly worked for a developer based in Vancouver who was developing projects in Seattle. I didn't deal with the finance much, but I do know his bank was also based in Vancouver. It might be worth talking to a bank in Vancouver to see if they would lend on a house/building in Seattle. If they would, then they could probably help you with the other details. The US doesn't limit foreign investment as much as many other countries, so I imagine it won't be too difficult (but I've never done it).

Thanks for the thorough explanation @James Marszalek, I really appreciate it.  I've been looking around JBLM and also Bremerton for my first purchase, so I know military folks will be a big part of my tenant base.

@James Marszalek So I've always thought of military tenants are pretty stable in part because of the stipend you mentioned.  But doesn't the deployment and PCS issue cause problems for landlords that rent to military tenants?  I would think a lot of people at JBLM would go on deployment at the same time, so not only would you lose your tenant, but it would also be pretty hard to find a replacement.  Is this an issue?  If so, how do you deal with it?

James Marszalek I seem to remember hearing once that landlords are required to allow their military tenants break their leases if they go on deployment or something along those lines. Is there any truth to that?

Downtown Seattle to SeaTac currently takes ±40 minutes.  SeaTac to Tacoma is a longer distance, although with fewer stations.  I'm guessing it will take 80-90 minutes, maybe more.

Right now via car it almost never takes 90 minutes in my experience.  It will sometimes take this long during the peak very peak of the commute (although I think 75 minutes is probably more typical), but it can take as little as 35 minutes at other times of the day.

Light rail will pretty much always take 80+ minutes, no matter the time of day, unfortunately.  I really hope during the design phase they decide to add capacity for express trains so this is not the case.

By the way, take a look at this website (http://soundtransit3.org/questions) at the third-to-last question for some more information on the route.

Typically the route would not be fully decided at this stage. ST needs the income from the approved measure to pay for in depth design. That said, general locations should be known. One thing to keep in mind is that neither ST2 or ST3 appear to be designed to accommodate express trains, which means a trip from Tacoma or Federal Way to Seattle will take a lot longer than you might think.

Rudy Manna I'll give that a shot and see if it works, thank you. I'm not sure if rents can go up without putting some money into the units, but maybe.

James Lusk Justin Peila Brent Coombs Thanks for the feedback. I forgot to mention a couple things: The property is located in South Tacoma near the Tacoma Mall. I was factoring in 5% for vacancy, and it is correct that I would have to pay mortgage insurance. I think you guys are right. Purchase price is too high and the low down payment (including the effect of mortgage insurance) is killing me. I really appreciate your insights and he extra sets of eyes!