All Forum Posts by: Irving Casas

@Ran-D Baldwin

I would start with multifamily investing. If you plan to scale banks look at multifamily favorably. You can have up to 10 loans under your name. Since most of the debt is covered by the tenant's rent, your debt-to-income ratio will stay low allowing you to buy more investments properties. This will also give you hands on experience with managing tenants or a managing a property manager. 

@Chris Wilburn

$1,800 for a 2/1 in the Arbor lodge is very competitive. I see rents increasing the quickest for new tenants. I notice that existing tenants have their rents increased slower. I've found that have a small yard and allowing pets increases your application pool. I use Redfin's rental app to check for asking market rents. I found this 2/1 asking rent: $2,295.

6555 N Greenwich Ave, Portland, OR 97217 | Redfin

I also check the RMLS for rents. I think best way to determine rents are to compare asking rents and actual rents on the RMLS.

@John Laney

Offer as low as you can based on your contractor's opinion and inspections. I always add a sewer scope, it's relatively inexpensive at $150. Sewer line issues is something most sellers are unaware of. This can help you negotiate a lower off price. When you close YOU will be fully responsible for fixing and selling this home. I like your strategy of adding an extra 10% off if the ARV comes back low. Best of luck flipping homes!

@William Sing

I contacted the city. For this property adding a driveway will not be an issue since the there are no trees to take down. I will have to get a permit from ODOT for the curve modification. This duplex has a bike score of 89! I'm going to follow through with adding a driveway because I will get to enjoy it when I live there. 

@Allan Tualla

First, I became determined. I made up my mind that I was going to buy a cash flowing property.  I focused on a duplex or house hacking. I then evaluated deals daily, using the BiggerPockets rental calculator. I became very knowledge about the area I wanted to buy in. I knew off the top my mind what individual room rented for, how much water/trash cost and taxes. I got my lending and down payment lined up. I did all this so that the day a deal came up I would be ready to place an offer. My final push was that I became determined. 

@Vladimir Amazan

The 1% rule worked in most markets until about 2020. Investors have to get creative to make rental properties work. In the Portland small multifamily homes are selling for high prices, rents are not keeping up with the high interest rates/water/sewer/taxes. In order to cash flow my clients have to pivot to MTR. 

I recommend B&G Excavation and Plumbing LLC. They do not provide onsite quotes however they do excellent work. You can email them a copy of the inspection report with notes from the inspector about the plumbing needs. 

Hello BP community!

I'm evaluating a duplex in the Portland, Oregon.  The duplex only has off street parking.  Has anyone in the Portland area added a driveway to an older home? Please share your experience!

@Felix Lilly

Buying ANY property is a great way to use the equity to save for a large down payment. However, I'm not a fan of condos because they take longer to sale and a special assessment could eat up your equity. An owner of a condo has little say on who performs the work needed, making the cost unpredictable. In contrast if owned a duplex or SFH and the home needs a new roof you can get quotes. I urge you buy a small multifamily such as a duplex. If you owned a SFH and a Duplex that are both 1,600 sq/ft the cost of replacing the siding would be the same (since siding is charged by sq/ft). In the meantime, while you own the duplex your mortgage is being subsidized by your tenant.

@Amy Healy

Since your interest rate on your first home is so low, I would aim to get a HELOC loan. The HELOC loan will not affect your first line of credit interest rate. The BP podcast has said several times that a 2nd home loan on an investment property is tough to obtain. Finding a lender may be tough however a good place to start would be with Home : The One Brokerage (the1brokerage.com). Best of luck!