All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

@Pete M. I started off managing my own and have since expanded into getting my license and managing for others. Cash flow is all over the map because it depends so much on condition of property and repair budget associated with that. You’d be lucky to get $1,000/mo with a Fourplex and outsourced mgmt in this market. Conversely, everett had lots of appreciation potential unlike a Yakima or Lakewood that would cash flow better.

@Pete M. lots of success in Everett. I suggest 4plex in North everett for 500-600k.

Welcome @Tiffany B Alexander Everett is a good spot to be for real estate investing. Still some opportunities available if you are willing to put in the work.

@Daniel Toshner I took finance in undergrad in 09-11' too! Then I went out and bought 35 units. I tip my hat to you today good sir.

@Daniel Toshner well done! How many units are in Seattle and what is your monthly income of these 151 units?

@Jason R. I read Ken McElroy’s book The ABCs of Real Estate Investing when I had probably 5-6 buildings (around 20 units). At that point in my career there was nothing revolutionary in the book but there were a lot of great tidbits. The one that jumped out the most said something to the effect of “the problem with real estate investing is that you save and save and save for a property. But once you buy it you are totally broke.” That was completely true in my situation. My wife and I killed ourselves saving up $80k for our first Properties (side by side duplexes) and once we bought them we were broke!!!! Unbeknownst to me, I followed Ken’s advice on how to overcome this problem: leveraging your skills with OPM.

Here is a brief summary of how I went from living in an 600 sq ft apartment in 2012 to owning a house in Seattle and 35 rental units across nine buildings in Everett.

• Bought primary residence in Seattle 2012 with 10% down. Kept the mortgage very reasonable.
• Saved, saved and saved. Bought side by side duplexes in Everett in late 2013.
• Saved just a little more with the addition of the duplexes cashflow and having a freshly proven model and sharp looking BP analysis tools, pitched and bought a fourplex with a partner in early 2014 (25% down and Have since bought the partner out).
• With 8 units, cashflow Snowball began to grow and saved, saved and saved. Found an owner financed fourplex in late 2014. 15% down.
• Being totally broke and wanted to continue to leverage my skills so I obtained real estate license and began using my knowledge to help other investors find and close deals. At this point I had rental income, W2 income and broker income. Here things got nuts and I didn't have a day off for along time!
• Bought another fourplex late 2014 with partner who funded the deal and we manage the propety and are paying back 50% of down payment on 5 year note at a competitive interest rate.
• Pulled out a HELOC on primary to help fund future deals.
• Purchased two more fourplexes in 2015 while working full time W2, managing my propertiers, real estate brokering and property managing for other investors.
• Jan 2016, quit my W2 and dove into real estate full time and have since purchased a Fourplex and small seven-unit apartment building with a partner and concentrated on paying down our HELOC.
• Now with HELOC paid off, we are looking to pool our equity in exisiting properties with a portfolio lender to purchase larger 8-20 unit building.

B. Strongly recommend B. Only issue I see is it could be hard to get an FHA offer accepted in this market. I started off with 4 units in 2013 and am up to 35...all in good ole Everett

move into it and take a HELOC if you don't want to sell.

I love this topic! Gets me back to my roots of saving for my first few properties. I am like @Account Closed where this day in age I focus on the "big three" of food, shelter and transportation. But when I started it was about saving every penny because in the Seattle market, even in 2012, a down payment was $80,000. I lived in the cheapest apartment I could find (within bike riding distance to work), ate a lean cuisine for lunch 5 days a week and shopped at Nordstroms Rack for work clothes. 

Five years and 35 rental units later, my net worth and monthly income have increased drastically but I still drive a 2000 purple Ford Ranger and don't wear extravagant clothes. My wife and I do have a decent house but were able to keep our mortgage under the $2,000 level we budgeted. I definitely spend a lot more on food and travel these days.

@Peter Shaw a fourplex in Everett or Tacoma would suit your needs nicely!