All Forum Posts by: Derek Heinz

Yes, that's affirming. Thanks, David. Pretty sure this is exactly what I'm going to do. The tricky part is that what I'd like to do is to get someone to commit to renting it before I do the renovation so that I won't have to have it unrented for a long time. My goal is to have it unoccupied for no longer than a week if possible. 

That's kind of what I was thinking. Maybe even sign someone to a rental contract, move out before they occupy, and have the work done before they move in. I'm going to talk with my tax advisor, which is probably where I should have begun in the first place, lol.  

Hello, all. 
A quick question to which I'd appreciate feedback and guidance: I am considering making my primary a rental. That's a whole different discussion as to whether I should sell or rent it.... But putting that question on the back burner for now, here's the scenario I'm considering: 

If I do choose to rent it out, I have some work I'd like to do on it, including a bathroom renovation and tiling in the kitchen. Other than that, a few little things. I have a contractor all ready to go, and he works fast, so that's not a problem. But I'm not sure how this works as far as tax implications. If I do all this work now while living in the home, I'm assuming I will not get the tax benefits, right? So then I have to wonder if there's a better way to do this, but the only approaches I can think of are to find a tenant who's comfortable with having this done while they live there, OR I could move out and have the work done while it's on the market? 

What I think I'm really asking is whether there are other good options I've failed to consider.... 

Thanks so much, everyone, for any guidance you can provide! 

I'm making a career change (out of education) into real estate. I've owned a few rentals and bought and sold numerous homes, so I'm not completely new to the game. However, to make a career out of this is definitely new and a bit overwhelming. I'd like to find someone very established and experienced who's looking to bring someone on his/her team to help out, however they need. My hope is that I can learn a lot and benefit from some solid mentorship. Any advice as to how to go about finding such a person? Or better yet, are any of you looking for someone like me to bring on board? 

Thanks so much, Joshua and Zeyu, for the feedback! 

I'm making a scary-but-exciting career change after 25 years in education. I live in Seattle, and I'm looking for mentorship and a way in which to partner with someone, earning my keep by doing odd jobs and helping however he/she may need. Of course it would be nice to be paid along the way, but mentorship is my first priority. I just got my RE broker's license, so that's an added detail. I have decided to take a year to see if I can make this work, relying upon my savings in the meantime. This is why this venture is a bit scary.... However, if I can find someone to take me under their wing and make myself an asset to them, then I think it will work out. Oh, I've owned and sold a few rentals, so I'm not completely ignorant of the industry. I just never made it a priority until now. Can y'all do an episode geared towards people in my situation? Basically the late-in-the-game career-changer who's taking what feels like a big, scary risk? I haven't listened to every podcast (I'm new to it and have listened to about 30, and already I've heard some that dabble in this area, but not anything quite this specific), so forgive me if there's already a podcast focused on such a topic. 

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $457,000
Cash invested: $148,000

Went through the 1031 process to sell a condo in Kent, WA and use the equity to purchase this single-family residence. I now have a property manager overseeing everything with it, and so far all is going well (knock on wood!).

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

I had owned the condo since 2001 and had rented it out since 2005. In retrospect, I decided that it made more sense and would likely help my money to work better to invest in a single-family home, and I like the neighborhood in which this house sits. I'm originally from Vancouver, so I've enjoyed watching the growth of the waterfront. This house is just a bit north.

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

My local realtor, Gina Weigum with Windermere, helped me narrow down some homes in the Vancouver area. She put me in touch with Christie Conley, a Vancouver realtor who knew the market well and the differences in how transactions work compared to the Seattle market. She was invaluable in navigating me through the process that included ten other offers.

How did you finance this deal?

1031 process

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

Christie Conley (Windermere Vancouver)
Gina Weigum (Windermere Bellevue)
Me-Derek Heinz! (TBD)

Hi, all! I'm changing careers and just got my RE broker license. I have owned some rentals and now want to pursue investing full-time and with all my energy. Any Eastside networking groups you all might recommend? I'd also love to connect with someone who just needs a right-hand man, an experienced investor willing to provide some mentorship while allowing me to return the favor by helping out however needed. I'm an English major and teacher by trade, if that matters at all. 

This is my first post, and I hope you'll go easy on me. I'm hitting "create post" with a lot of trepidation. I know how this can go because I am an experienced fly fisherman, and whenever a fishing rookie posts something dumb in a fishing forum, people lambaste them. Please don't do that to me! Remember how it feels to be new at something.... Oh, if there are any Seattleites willing to trade RE intel/mentorship for fly fishing lessons, I'm your guy! 

I am hoping you might give me some good "next-step" advice. I just bought a single-family home (sold a condo rental via 1031) to rent and hired on a property manager since it is 200 miles away. It will cash flow about $200, with tenants moving in next week. 

I own a home that I'd like to rent out, and it would cash flow about $500. If I were to sell it, I'd stand to walk away with about 360k. I do not have much in the way of liquidity, but I do have IRAs and about 30k left in a HELOC. If I go the route of renting out my property, I may just rent a place and wait out the market a bit. My plan -- for now -- is to be a buy-and-hold investor, and I'd like to get into multi-family units. Oh, I'm 49 years old and want to retire from my pretty good 9-5 by 55 and have a nice RE portfolio by then. I live in the Seattle area, if that helps. Oh, and throw in the fact that I'm working towards my RE license and have a friend who wants to partner on a property management company. We have some good mentorship there from a friend who is retiring in another state and turning over his PM company to his kids.

I'm going to assume I'm making the prototypical rookie move and forgetting to include important, relevant info, so please be nice and avoid referring to me as "dumbass" or anything of that sort. Your help is greatly appreciated! BTW, I LOVE BP so far and have been listening to podcasts around the clock, much to my 14 year-old daughter's chagrin.