All Forum Posts by: Dennis Nguyen

Hi Akram! STR's do work in western Washington but it really depends on the cash on cash return you are trying to achieve. Our team focuses on helping investors buy STR here in Washington and for some of them they are happy with a lower cash on cash as long as they can get the benefits of appreciation and accelerated depreciation to offset their W-2 income. I sent you a DM in case you have any questions.

I personally think a 30 year fixed conventional loan would be best for a buy and hold. Reason being is the interest rates are typically lower and you would get a fixed rate for 30 years. 

Hi Connor, if you live in Washington $50K is enough for you to put down on a owner-occupied property for a house-hack. That's because you can utilize a low down payment loan for as low as 3.5%. Many of the clients I work with have $50K to start with and we make it work after we run the numbers from the rents that they can get coming in. 

If you are investing out of state, $50K can go pretty far depending on what state you want to invest in. However, definitely do your due diligence. I'm an agent / investor here in Washington myself, feel free to DM me with any questions you have!

I love the MTR strategy! I'm using it for two properties right now near Seattle, WA and they are doing well. I personally prefer MTR's over STR's for my area because the cash flow you get from both are pretty similar (STRs will get you more cashflow in general though), but MTR's are less work bc if you have a good tenant in there they will stay for at least 3 months and so I don't have to worry about the constant turnover.

A couple things to consider, do you have hospitals or clinics near your property? Majority of MTR tenants are traveling nurses, so they will want to be near a proximity of a hospital.

Bought my first house-hack a year after landing my first job. Best decision I've made! House-hacking helped me become a landlord, learn how to analyze deals, and also was a stepping stone for me into real estate investing. It wasn't a home run when I bought it, but it significantly reduced my living expenses while owning my own property was a huge win for me. Definitely no regrets. 

Definitely put things in writing. However, I would not do it myself if I don't have experience. You can hire an attorney to draft the addendum or a lease for you to cover your bases. There are also rental form resources you can find on BP that is state specific as well you can check out! 

If you only have 30K, I wouldn't advise investing all of it into real estate. I would build a nest egg of at least 6 months of reserves first before you decide the amount you want to put down on a house. You wouldn't want to put yourself through a stressful situation just to buy a property. 

Also, 2.5K to 30K is very impressive in the markets, congrats! Is that a hobby or a full time job for you? If you can consistently make good money being a trader (more than a year or two) and can show it on your tax returns you can potentially use that as income to qualify for a property in the future. Not a CPA, but that's what I've heard. 

Hi John! Congrats on starting at 18... that is huge and something I wished I did. Definitely look into house-hacking when you get a chance. It's just a fancy term for renting out the rooms or units you're not using to offset your mortgage. But as others have mentioned above, yes definitely find a full-time job first to make yourself financeable to lenders.  

Pretty sure nothing is "recession proof" :) but I think if you are in the top 5-10% of the STR's in your area you will be able to weather the storm. The bottom 50% of STRs in terms of quality/customer service will most likely feel the most pain during the recession.