All Forum Posts by: Clayton Swansen

hi folks. Haven’t been on here for awhile, and been consumed with every other thing but real estate for too long. I’m looking at getting my rid of my triplex in northwest Washington State.

Is there anything I should know about the market now and in the near future? The property has been very good to me, and it was my first home purchase as well. It is bittersweet, but I’m looking at doing some other things now. Just wondering what peoples thoughts are on selling right now, or within the next few months. Is the investment property market still reasonably hot? Are prices still decent for sellers? What are the trends the pros are seeing? Any info is appreciated. Thanks all. 

Hi Julie! I haven’t checked my BP account in a while, but given the current market trends I will probably be paying a bit more attention to it for a while… Here is the update on the ghosting in case it is still relevant to your situation. I ended up painting that unit with Killz quite literally everywhere, floors (former long-term tenant had cats) wall, and ceiling. Then I put two coats of good quality paint… I think the Valspar Signature maybe. It was a “one coat” kind of paint, but two was the right call. It was a little expensive for my taste, but I think the KillZ + good paint took care of it for the most part. It’s a strange phenomenon. I have had some moisture issues in that unit since then, but it didn’t seem to effect the walls. It actually was causing issues of molding on the tenants clothes I was told. We stuck a dehumidifier in there, and haven’t had any complaints since then. Hope this helps!

Clayton

Hi Ryan. Thank you for commenting on my question. Funny enough one of your videos popped up on my YouTube feed. Great stuff, and I will definitely subscribe. Thank you again!

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $306,500
Cash invested: $3,500

Bellingham triplex: two, 2 beds; one 1 bed.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

House Hack!

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

My amazing friend and real estate agent Miguel Brionez

How did you finance this deal?

VA loan, plus some closing costs

How did you add value to the deal?

Rehab’d the unit I moved into, and as tenants moved out, I rehab’d one other unit. Rents were insanely low in this property in 2016 prior to purchase. I have no increased rents to current rental market in my area, and am cash flowing approximately $2k every month.

What was the outcome?

Outcome was better than I ever could have imagined

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I have been lucky with this property. Only a couple minor tenant issues, and some inevitable property updates and replacements of appliances and fixtures.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Miguel Brionez, ReMax Bellingham, Wa. I highly recommend him!

Hi everyone! It’s been a long time since I last posted on here… life is a rollercoaster. Since I first got turned onto BP in 2016, I purchased a triplex on northwest Washington State. I house-hacked it, and it has paid off in spades. Since then I’ve gotten married, and found out that my wife has a serious and urgent health issue. My very small business also went under, and I subsequently started a new business as a handyman/general contractor. It’s truly I feel I belong. I love the work, and I love helping people and creating mutually rewarding relationships with clients. We’ve also experienced a worldwide pandemic in case any of you weren’t aware… The results of all of this has left me with some debt, and less than stellar credit which I am working hard to repair as I get back to work again, finally. 

I conservatively have about $300k in equity in my rental property, and I am dying to use it to purchase another property, and perhaps start a BRRR strategy and begin to build our financial power up again. However, not having good enough credit to qualify for a loan or heloc or other product, I don't know what to do, but there must be something! If anyone here has any ideas, I would be ever so grateful. Thank you!

@Daniel Lynch love this post... I house hack and my gf moved in with me last year. She didn’t pay at first and it caused some issues. It may seem awkward, but she now pays me $500 rent every month, and it has actually made things better between us. At first she had to fight me for extra space, but now that she pays I feel obligated to be more fair in the amount of space she gets for her things and decorative tastes, and expected household chores. It’s become our home instead of my home.

She would be paying far more living on her own, and it’s only fair to help out with the expenses. Having her help out with expenses is a great way to stave off future resentment on either of your parts. She pays and therefore has a stake and a say in how and where things go in the household, meaning house rules become a joint agreement instead of one party simply living under the other’s rules which can cause more resentment... It also gives her a sense of ownership and responsibility to the home, which I think is very positive for a relationship.

Hi BP! I've found myself in yet another quandary that can only be solved by you gallant and intrepid investors in real estate. I've got a Washington State specific question that I just can't seem to find an answer for, and I'm hoping I might gleen an answer from the wealth of knowledge held in the razor sharp minds of this fine community... 

I am interested in starting a small property management firm, and I came across the fact that I must have a Managing Broker's License to do so. One of the requirements is that one must have three years of experience working full-time as an agent, and/or relevant training before he/she is eligible for the MBL. I do not have this experience. However, I spent many years in the military, and it just so happens that there is a caveat stating that military experience may suffice in lieu of this requirement...

"18.85.490 Military training or experience. An appli- cant with military training or experience satisfies the training or experience requirements of this chapter unless the director determines that the military training or experience is not sub- stantially equivalent to the standards of this state. [2011 c 351 § 6.]"

However, there is an issue of timeframe here, because in the MBL requirements it states that: 

"(c) Has had a minimum of three years of licensed experience as a fulltime real estate broker in this state or in another jurisdiction having comparable requirements within the five years previous to applying for the managing broker's license examination or is otherwise qualified by reason of practical experience in a business allied with or related to real estate as prescribed by rule;" 

SO, now for the big pay off, my friends who have held on this long... my question is (drum roll, please) must military service have been within the last five years in order to satisfy this requirement? And for that matter, is it only specific types of military service -perhaps pertaining somehow to real estate or land aquisition- that are acceptable?

Thank you kindly, BP'ers!!

Thanks for your insight, @Dave Stafford!

Hi everyone. This is just a question I have that I am hoping to spur some colorful discussion on. I wasn't sure where to stick this post, so into the general pot it goes! 

I was reading a book recently on economic history. It discussed the fact that throughout history there have been a handful of sudden economic paradigm shifts. What happened in these instances was that the majority of a given society believed that they understood their system completely, that there were no more surprises to be found within it... Then, suddenly their whole world changed, and they were struck rather violently with the realization that all of the things these people thought they knew, were not actually so. 

This got me thinking about what I don't know about real estate investing, and the real estate world in general (which I freely admit is pretty much everything). I have come to believe that bought right, multi-family investing is about as safe of an investment as there is. I can use a little bit of money to secure a large asset, do some improvements, boost the rents, and then I have a cash-flowing property that the tenants pay for. Again, I have come to believe that bought at the right price, in the right area, and rented at the right price, I will have a secure asset even in the event of an economic downturn. This is freakin' amazing. But in a fairly solid economy like we have at the moment, it's easy to talk up real estate investing. On BP, I get a pretty rosy picture of REI, but there must be pitfalls outside of just buying a bad deal.

I'm a believer that if you are dilligent in the study of your craft, that you may not be able to foresee the future, but you can be well-prepared to not only weather the storms, but to take advantage of them. This is what I want to do with my investing. I want to make it bulletproof... or close to it, anyway.

So, what am I missing? What are the pitfalls here that I have not thought of??? 

Update: I am an hour into my real estate prelicensing coursework. Let's do this.