All Forum Posts by: Brandon Vukelich

Thanks for sharing the data.  Being from the Seattle area, I caution investors.  The political climate should make most people nervous and the city council is extremely anti-landlord.  Amazing jobs, appreciation, etc. but obviously other criteria to consider. The greater Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma metro area is pretty solid, I just encourage investors to consider looking outside Seattle's city limits.  Wondering how any of the other cities listed fare in terms of being landlord-friendly or not? 

Yes, in the PSA. Be sure you point out the total potential costs to your end buyer (flipper). They don't always read contracts thoroughly. Early on my first deals, I had a guy pretty pissed at closing to see all the costs. He obviously didn't read the PSA before signing the assignment agreement but I learned it's best to be very clear from the get go.

@Richard Forbes it depends on your focus.  There are plenty of books, podcasts, forums, etc for just about every aspect of RE investing that you're driven to proceed.  Mine is multifamily so I really liked the book, Crushing it in Apartments & Commercial RE, and Michael Blank's podcast.

Everything is negotiable.  On a typical deal, we usually negotiate that seller is responsible for their mortgage balance and we (future buyer) is responsible for both sides title, escrow and our local state excise tax.  It adds about 5% to the purchase price but we try to keep the math simple for sellers.  They owe $80k, we offer them $180k and then they know they'll clear $100k at closing.  Best wishes on your journey!

Yeah @Richard Forbes, how do you expect someone to help you if they don't know you even have the ability to close, whether it's $100k or $1mil? Are you contacting a residential agent, looking to find a SFR or 2-4 unit? At least in my area, I can't help someone on the residential side without a pre-approval letter in hand from their lender. For investors looking at 5+ units, I would need to know where you plan to raise the 25-30% down or if you plan to buy all cash, then I would request proof of funds. Best wishes on your journey!

Agree with @Rick Martin.  Yes, anyone can take on self-managing and save money by collecting the rent and calling a handyman to fix something.  Here's the real kicker, at least if someone from outside of WA wanted to invest in say, Seattle.  The city of Seattle has its own set of local ordinances that prevent landlords from booting tenants. Seattle is a very anti-landlord city and I'm willing to bet that there are more out there like San Francisco and others. It would be very time consuming to learn all of the state and local landlord-tenant laws and you open yourself up to so much liability in handling leases/deposits, discrimination lawsuits, etc. I'm always confused why someone would want the hassle of driving hours or flying somewhere in the event of an emergency at your property.  Even so, who wants to be bothered with late night phone calls or tenants bugging you on vacation?  (Speaking from experience.)  Leave it to a professional. When I look at buying a property, I budget 10% for PM fees but I usually can get it for less.  Even if I'm buying within my home state, WA.  I used to own a PM firm and have very little interest in self-managing my own portfolio. 

Yeah, the "meet ups" have dried up a bit due to covid.  Networking has pretty much moved to online or conf calls.  There are still zoom events happening.  Have you checked here on BP under Network-->Events?  Not sure what you're specifically interested in discussing or learning.  Happy to chat anytime.

Look up sound transit light rail map. 

*This is just a personal opinion (obviously). :) Yes, stay out of the city limits of Seattle. The expanding growth has already begun outside of Seattle into other parts of King County as well as Pierce, Snohomish and even Kitsap. Follow the light rail plan. Everett is hot but Tacoma is hotter. If your budget is $600k, why go SFR? Especially if it is just you. You could pick up a decent duplex...maybe triplex, for that amount and have your monthly housing expense much lower. Also depends on where you plan to work locally or staying in Chicago. Best wishes on your investment journey!

Uhhh...that's an ideal deal. Almost all of our deals are not distressed, just motivated sellers with equity looking for a quick sale. Just depends on the usually numbers: seller's price, rehab costs, ARV and potential profit for the end-buyer. If it just needs some simple remodeling, you should consider to BRRRR that sucker or at the very least partner with someone to flip it yourself if the rehab is minimal. Just some ideas to consider.