All Forum Posts by: Chelsea Shapiro

I have a few clients in Marysville with small MF properties.  Based on what I've seen of their operating summaries $1,800-$2,000 for a 2 bedroom seems to be the range as of late.  

I'm a huge fan of the app Hurdlr.  You can link to bank accounts, have multiple businesses, tag expenses, track mileage (it will let you decide if it's personal or business), download P&Ls and other reports.  It's only ~$7 a month, or less if you pay annually.  

I have a 20 unit apartment building under contract for a buyer in Chehalis, WA.  Anyone have any inspector recommendations? 

I'm hearing lots of stories from my clients about tenants taking advantage of the pandemic and not paying rent, not just in Seattle, but even in Snohomish and Pierce County.  Since one of the exceptions to the eviction ban is selling the property I think we're going to see more properties come to market as part of the landlords recouping their losses. 

Can you explain the financing a bit more, is it owner-occupied?  The down payment looks too low for a non-owner occupied rental.  If it is owner-occupied, that interest rate could/should be much better! 

I use Rentometer on a daily basis and love it and the paid version is worth it in my opinion.  The only warning I would share is recognizing when not to use the auto search feature and what search adjustments to make.  In certain neighborhoods and areas the search radius can really throw it off one way or the other so know your market well enough to recognize when that happens.  

My husband is a Director of Career Services at a local university, so we're very involved in the higher-ed world, however we really encourage students to measure and challenge the ROI on the degree they're earning. Having the degree will open doors in the future that would otherwise be unavailable. Even if you're dreaming up a certain career path now, most likely it will evolve and shift in the future, and having options is valuable. I think more emphasis in the university scene should be placed on practical degrees and avoiding debt, I believe that approach is the ticket to a high ROI on a college degree.

@Steven Westlake DIYer here! Craziest DIY we did was jack up a house to replace a rotted sill plate and rim joist. However, we also have an architectural firm so we kind of cheat by asking for tons of advice from out network.

@Forrest Faulconer I think there are probably more regional factors at play here. In Washington state we havent built enough new units to keep up with the population growth. Between 2000 and 2015 there were 225,000 housing units that should have been built but were not. There's some studies cited in my blog that show the data. https://www.soundmultifamily.com/blog/thoughts-housing-shortage/

There are multiple reasons why we havent been building enough in Washington... increased regulation is the one that could be controlled the most but isnt (about 25% of a builders budget is just getting thru the red tape). Construction costs, construction labor shortage, zoning laws are also playing a part so I dont think blaming the boomers is quite fair.

My understanding with the local COVID eviction moratoriums is that 2 of the only exemptions for getting tenants out is for purposes of a sale and/or a landlord-owner needing to take up occupancy for themselves.  It seems like month-to-month tenants would be more conducive for either of those scenarios.