All Forum Posts by: Heather Hearsey

I've heard that Gregory is good for Eastside properties. Windermere Northeast Gregory Property Management

I have a friend who lives in Ohio who works for Keller Williams and she has huge accounts doing relocations for companies and individuals all over the country so that is where I learned about such things myself.  I'll ask her if she knows anyone in particular out here. My property is in North Seattle and have used the UW's dept. of housing to get good tenants.

Hi Assaf,

I looked at your listing and I think it looks quite nice, you would get more for it over here in Seattle but... One thing I noticed is that the other listings in the area are in newer buildings which in turn have newer amenities; gym, secured parking, manicured grounds with BBQ's, perhaps bikes or kayaks available. There obviously isn't much you can do about that so instead of spending $10k on remodeling I'd lower the rent a bit or hire a management company that does relocations as well as normal renting to locales as it may open up your pool of candidates. 

Good Luck!!

This may have been said already, I didn't read every response... Even in Washington, where it is legal to grow your own in small amounts, I know that people have been denied re-fi's if there was even a single plant in the house. Also, if you have any damages that you need reimbursed from your insurance, will likely be declined if they think anyone was growing, even if it wasn't the source of the problem (gives them a way out of paying). 

There are a number of start-ups in Washington that though quite popular just didn't have enough $ to pay for all the expenses involved and ended up going under. If you are the owner of the property with others doing the growing you have to be sure that they pay you regularly or you will evict them, often you will be the last to get paid as they need to pay for utilities ($10k+ mo.) and the cost of labor and supplies to keep the operation going and making $.

I've heard that store owners and production companies do much better financially (in Washington you can't grow and sell or make edibles, there are 3 different licenses) they have less overhead and less risk of issues with the crops to contend with.

Good luck!

Hi,

I have been lucky enough to have had the same tenants in my duplex since I bought it 4 years ago but I now have to do my first turnover of a unit and I am likely going to have the other one turnover in the next 6 months as well.  Wondering about how long it takes most people to get a unit in order before the next tenants can move in? Do you have issues with renting mid-month?  I have someone to assist with a number of the repairs; painting, replace the sink, new locks, etc. but also need to replace the carpet and would prefer to have someone else do the cleaning of the unit if possible. Any people or companies that you would recommend for carpets and for move-out cleaning in the North Seattle area?  I wouldn't mind a recommendation for yard maintenance either, someone who could do weeding and pruning of various shrubs and trees without bringing completely butchering them would be good (this has been an issue).

Thanks so much for any and all advice!!!

http://blueprintcap.com/builder-services/

I am not a contractor but as a real estate agent I was looking to find pre-sales for a client and came across a company called Blueprint, they match builders, agents, property owners and investors as well as list up-coming building projects in King County. They might be a good source for finding new construction work. 

Crazy idea....!  I've noticed cars being pretty expensive when reading the newspaper when I'm in Vancouver, perhaps look at what the requirements are for selling it in Canada and what your car is valued at there??

I concur with the idea of looking at Tacoma and Olympia. I'm from Seattle and have family in Auburn and know that it is one of the slowest growing markets, there are actually still a lot of foreclosures that have been on market for over 500 days which is a bad sign in our hot market. Tacoma has made vast improvements in livability and reducing crime thus a lot of people have moved there to escape the high costs of Seattle (I know at least 4 families who have moved in the last year). I moved to Shoreline 3 years ago because of the prices and anything close to the new rail line is going to become even more desirable (my home has appreciated about 75%), look at places where there are major improvements coming down the pike, you may not make much right now but in a few years it will probably increase quite a bit. Good luck!

Justin, Is this property in Seattle? How do you deal with the utilities currently? With Seattle City Utilities you can't put the water/waste bill in their name. I'm guessing you have been paying it entirely and writing it off as an expense but don't want to have them pay you since you would consider it income? I figure that it is neither income or an expense if it is just the tenant paying for their own billI. I used to include water and garbage and write it off but had one tenant get married and have a baby and the other unit switched from one person to 3 and the bill became really high without anyone having any sense of responsibility for their water usage or the need to recycle and compost.  I believe you need to give 90 days notice to a change in utility billing. I did so and I just bill them every other month when the bill is due and they pay with the next rent payment. It may not be exacting, and some tenants may not feel it's fair but mine understood that the alternative would be a fairly large rent increase and have since been much better about their usage. I split the entire bill based on occupancy, so if you have 1 person in 2 units and 6 in another you would split it 10%, 10% and 80%. Good luck!

I have used HIP (Hanis, Irvine, Prothero) law firm in Auburn, Wa. for a lot line dispute in Seattle.

I think all of the Hanis' specialize in Real Estate law.

Good luck!