All Forum Posts by: Edward Seid

What a great way to begin investing. Duplex for 160k in Seattle in 2012? I'll take it. Welcome to BP!

@Kai Hicks

Welcome to the BP! Would love to hear of your progress! I've also been investing heavily in low-cost index funds and am not seeing the returns I'd like to see. Planning to re-route all future savings to a real estate fund instead... :).

You won't find much cashflow in Seattle, but the appreciation will make up for it.

@Dave Foster That was very well put. I did not know about reverse 1031's.

Hi Benjamin - They were acquired via loans from local banks. 

It's definitely slim pickings in Seattle for sfr though it is different for mfh. Rents in some areas like capital hill, Queen Anne, central dist have seen ~10% increases yoy for the past 2-3 years. Most mfh buys are buy and hold appreciation plays.

It's an on-going lesson taught everyday, but when the checks start flowin' on the 1st, she gets it...

But to be completely honest... growth of savings accounts, more properties, larger retirement accounts - these speak louder than any words will ever!

Hi Joshua - I started "small"... bought a place to live in while doing renovations and also rented out rooms to friends. Often times, when you don't have a lot to work with, I find hacking homes to be the easiest. Depending on your focus, you could live in a SFR and hack or buy a duplex and live in one unit to hack and rent out the other. This is a great way to build equity down the road so you can tap into it when needed to purchase a 2nd property.

Hello everyone,

I have a SFR rental in Seattle near a university with students as the renters. The house is on hill overlooking the street which runs parallel to the freeway so one side of the street has houses and the other side does not. The street is also a thorough way for pedestrians and other cars that want to avoid ~5-10 blocks of traffic. The attached garage is located in the back of the house, accessible by a one-lane street running parallel to the main street.

Recently, and by recently I mean in the last 6 months, of the 5 tenants living at the rental, 2 have had their cars broken into and a mutual friend had their car stolen. Mail has also been tampered with twice. I would say this area is probably a B+ neighborhood and by no means dangerous.

My question to everyone is, do I need to address this issue of car-prowlers or is it something the tenants should be responsible for? One of the break-ins occurred because the tenant forgot her backpack in her car. I know the landlord should be responsible for providing a safe and secure property, but how far does that extend beyond doors with locks/deadbolts, lockable windows, etc?

I look forward to hearing your inputs!

Hi Zach,

Some things I think about when I underwrote LIHTC properties when I was still in the business: 

What are the max rents for the 30s, 50s and 60s and are we hitting these rents? If you aren't, great, means you got some room for value-add. If you're up against max, you're limited to whatever next year's increase(or decrease, which is terrible) in max rents. 

Taxes. Usually properties require a 501c3 NP as a GP for it to qualify for tax exemption. Just need to clarify if a 501c3 is required for transferability.

LIHTC restrictions: Check the LURA!! (Land use reg agmt). It will state what the restrictions are and for how long. Some restrictions last 15, 20, 30+ years. Some even 99 (perpetuity) in the northeast. Check what happens after the restrictions are up. Can units go mkt rate? If so, there's a 3-year phase out process.

Many basic LIHTC properties are subject to 15 year restrictions so your building's restrictions might be coming up soon?

For more resources, check out Novogradic. It's what I used for calculating max rents and finding other LIHTC apts nearby. Great for learning more about LIHTC as well.

Msg me if you have any more questions.

-Ed

There's a duplex I'm looking at in a B-class area of Tacoma that's at 1.1% and is turn key. My goal has been buy n hold so no/low rehab required is great for my strategy. It's possible down South, though not positive in Everett as I never check that area.