All Forum Posts by: Christian Wathne

Really appreciate the quick replies, you guys are awesome!

Looks like it can go either way; I decided to reject this one because of the type of house (targets high income families) and will stick strictly with non smokers. Not worth the risk. 

Thinking back, anecdotally, I have a friend who only smokes outside, but there's definitely a slight smoke smell in his home.  

Hi Everyone, 

I'm pre-screening before I do showings and one person who's interested in the house said this....

"I like to get it out of the way, would you have any concerns about smoking in the backyard only? (Haven't kicked the bad habit yet. We have a 2 yr old, so we're obsessively conscious about smells and washing). Thanks"

They have 100k+ income and good job history at large tech companies. My 4br/2ba single family house in a premium area is newly renovated and this would be the first tenant. Would you turn this applicant away or not?

Hey Josh, wish I could help with the contractor. My one and only trusted guy is booked way out and unfortunately won't take any more work. Makes me want to become a General

Definitely! Make sure to take all your measurements/etc at the same time as well. Some may frown on this, but my contractor is my inspector; we go through top to bottom together and make a list of problems that will take money to fix.

Because the rich are getting richer a lot faster than the poor/middle class my philosophy is that buy and hold strategy is best done in prime areas. Queen Anne, Wallingford, Kirkland, Bellevue, Redmond, etc is where I'd be looking to buy and hold.

Thank you all, that makes complete sense.

Hi BP, hoping to get some help!

I've been reading all about transunion smartmove tenant screening, there's a number of features I like, but I cant figure out if this service actually replaces the typical rental application form, or if I still need applicants to fill out a standard application form then also go through the transunion smart move screening. Can you help me shed some light on this?

Hey Rosston, yeah, it's been about every 2yrs to avoid taxes on the gains and until now it really has been only part time. As far as resources, I'm a young economics major. I called the bottom of the market in 2012 and decided to dive in head first. I follow calculatedrisk closely and keep close eye on local jobs and real estate news. Having best friends who are plumbers/electricians/carpenters helps too :)

Discovered the BP podcast about six months ago and newbie to this forum. Name: Christian Location: Bellevue/Seattle/Kirkland, WA Occupation: software program manager and part time real estate investor Bought my first property in 2012, renovated then sold in 2014, then purchased a condo in Seattle, renovated and sold that last year. Purchased a 4br/2ba fixer sfh in Bellevue 2 yrs ago, now complete with the full renovation and getting ready to either sell or rent this property. Done well so far but want to start picking up the pace. Love all the intelligent questions and answers on this forum and looking forward to being a contributing member!