All Forum Posts by: Brandon Vukelich

Love your enthusiasm to find improvements but not sure I (as a fellow agent) would have much need for another platform or system than my local MLS. After I read your post, I was curious how long it would take me on average to pull comps so I did a test on an upcoming listing of mine, a 3bd/2ba, 1670sq ft, 1988yr single family home. I'm sure every agent has their own method but I click: active, contingent, pending inspection, pending and sold (right now I used sold under 90 days). Then set criteria 3-4 beds, 1500-2500 and price $500-650k. I know my listing will be in the 550-575k range. I then click the map to crop to a specific area I want to limit the search and get the results. The process took me 55 seconds.

I can't say how long the full deep dive takes to review as sometimes there are only a couple of comps and other times there are over a dozen or so.  Maybe 5-30 mins more in reviewing pics, reading descriptions, calling other agents.  Trying my best to find ones for the closest "apples to apples" comparisons.  

Also, our system allows for a variety of reports to be generated. No need for other spreadsheets and tools.  Was that helpful at all?

@Christen G. I emailed Tacoma's city council prior to this in an attempt to try and shed some logic from both a landlord and veteran agent's perspective that owns/works in the area. The late fees change is only one of several things that are problematic with most of the latest changes. In my line of work, I'm witnessing many more instances of tenants taking advantage of the overly burdensome process and backlogged system. One recent example, I have clients that obtained a writ of restitution on July 18 to evict a tenant, Pierce Co Sheriff can't schedule it until September 7th. The tenant hasn't paid rent since December 2022.

Here are a few other changes that are extremely disappointing.

• 120-day written notice needed before increasing rent. - The previous min of 60-days was plenty. I believed that 20 or 30 days was not enough for most tenants, especially when bumping rent 10% or more. But now when I sign a 3-month lease for my MTR, I need to immediately also deliver a notice of rent increase that can't even begin until month 4 should the tenant wish to renew.

• Deposits (Six Months or Longer Leases). Tenants will be allowed six, instead of three, months to pay move-in fees and deposits in monthly installments - There will very likely be tenants that pay the 1st month then stop paying in months 2-6. Landlords will be forced to start the eviction process that will take months and cost a couple thousand bucks, even if successful...and pray the tenant doesn't trash the place. Good luck recovering any funds to deal with damages.

• Prohibited from regulating or restricting dogs based on breeds, unless they have an insurance company-required breed restrictions, provided that any breed of service animal shall be allowed. - A landlord must now put themselves, their vendors and/or other tenants at risk by allowing dangerous breeds. I need to research this further but as a landlord, I plan to seek an insurance policy that restricts them. Either way, tenants could find some bogus document identifying their dangerous breed dog as a service animal.

The problem I continue to see, read and hear in our region is only addressing the concerns related to the tenants. There is very little dialogue about the financial burdens, stress and major inconveniences at risk for landlords. I'm advising clients to hire attorneys day one when needing to start any notice process, in any local city. An attorney advised me the first thing the tenant's court-appointed legal counsel at an eviction hearing will look at is the timeline for notice delivery. One misstep in the process, negates it all and you'll need to start the whole thing over again.

I don't have all the answers but things have become too lopsided in the tenants' favor here. There can be more common sense applied to find more balance. 

Now don't get me started on Seattle....

Read "Never Split the Difference" by Chris Voss, follow his stuff.  You will learn over time by experience but from what I've seen in 13+ years as a licensed broker is that nearly all agents/their clients like to "meet in the middle" when negotiating.  I was guilty of that for years as well.  After taking some negotiating courses and reading books like that one, it really helped me when negotiating terms for offers, inspections and due diligence items.  Asking a lot of questions to gain the best understanding of the situation at hand is vital.  I typically try to limit emotions (you can rarely eliminate buyer/seller emotions 100%) and have logic prevail at every opportunity.  Best wishes on your real estate journey!

Join the WAREI group on Facebook.  It is full of wholesalers.  You'll get blown up.

I realize the BP site's search function is pretty crappy but you could also search on this topic and find more than one post on the subject.  I know I've posted replies at least twice about OK PMs.  Look up Keyrenter, they service quite a broad area of OK and even NW Arkansas.  For Tulsa specifically, Bailey-Foristell has been around a long time, family-owned biz.

Yep, with 6th Ave and Point Ruston, things have really been on the upswing in Tacoma. I've been telling clients that the 6th Ave area has the vibe of an up and coming "Ballard" so look out...it is going to continue. Light rail and the work from home crowd is definitely spurring things as well. Yet, areas of Tacoma will continue to battle of crime, vandalism and homeless. All things considered, my wife and friends always prefer a night out in Tacoma vs Seattle any day.

Hey Mragank, I sent you an email on June 23. Happy to discuss those markets when you have time. I highly suggest you research local landlord tenant law updates before you pick a city to start to run numbers. Federal Way is getting up there with Seattle in terms of nuttiness. Best wishes on your investing journey!

I would say it depends if you intend to owner-occ the property using FHA, VA, etc. or non-owner occ and go conventional, hard money, all cash. Also need to consider if you intend to hire a PM or self-manage. Going alone or bringing in partners?

Yes, most turn-key will be found in the MLS. Sometimes FSBOs on Zillow or Craigslist or within other investor groups (live or online).

The #1 issue I see with new investors is analysis-paralysis.  Too many afraid to pull the trigger on an offer, let alone close a deal.  Many are looking for unicorns on their first one.  Your first one may not be a home run but you'll gain massive experience and knowledge.  Of course, it depends on your goals but if you're just getting started and you're probably "younger" so I would focus on better appreciating properties over higher cash flowing ones. I don't know Rochester, NY but in my opinion, stick to properties in growing areas (jobs, rents, appreciation, population) that may offer lower returns at first but should appreciate well and see cash flow improve over time. This can allow you to build more equity and scale up.  

Either way, thankfully we all don't want the exact same thing.  It's already very competitive out there as it is.  Best wishes on your investing journey!

Curious, why did they back out?  Were they financing the deal or just bringing your down payment + closing costs?  Depending on the terms, if you still need an investor, shoot me a DM. 

Ha!  We would love to see a 7% cap in our area.  Yes, some want turn-key products in the most desirable areas.  I don't know about the rest of the country but typically you don't get A-class product in solid areas on a 7+ cap.  In our area, investors buy multifamily on a 5-6% all day but they are mostly all cash, 1031 or huge down payment investors. I recently helped a 1031 client buy two 7-unit MF in Seattle, one on a 5.25 and the other on a 5.4 cap. They are buying in areas of strong jobs, strong rent growth (historically) and strong appreciation (historically).  I say historically because both are a little flat right now but they are not buying for a 2-3 year hold and are betting the long game.