All Forum Posts by: Jared Boundy

Hi Michael, Welcome and congrats on taking the first step in deciding to make it happen! I'm well aware of the difficulty it can be to start in the Seattle market, from my personal experience. I'd recommend that you determine your parameters...What's most important, price, location, or configuration (duplex vs SFR)? You may be able to find a fixed upper SFR, or if you are ok buying further from Seattle, you might find a duplex. Or you might decide to take more time to save before investing so that you can afford just what you want. Usually, you'll need to compromise on something in order to get started, and maybe trade up later to something more expensive. Find people who are doing, or want to do similar things, and maybe there will be an opportunity to partner up. I'm happy to chat if you want more ideas.

@Charito Mattson thanks for being vulnerable and sharing your experience.  I’m sorry you don’t always get the representation you’re hoping for from an agent.  For what it’s worth, I’ve found that full-time agents can be more committed to their client’s needs than part-timers.  However, $150/mo that is going toward your equity will still be good in the long term.  I totally agree with goin give the numbers and trying to remove emotion from the decision.  It’s especially tricky if you’re going to live in the property, but approaching it as a business deal vs personal preference can help you make wiser decisions.

Very nice!

Welcome @Steven Jones.  Way to put your aggressive goals out there! You’ll find some better pricing in Kitsap County (or other surrounding areas).  Where is your condo?  I’ve got a client looking for an investment condo in the south end.  PM me the details if it could be a potential rental.

If you find a good deal, grab it!  Good multifamily properties get snatched up pretty quickly around here.

@Account Closed, if you don't have official applications yet, and prospects are asking what they can do to lock it down, I don't see any problem with asking them..."I don't know, what would you be willing to do to convince me that you're a better bet than anyone else?"  Certain cities will require you to accept the first qualified applicant, so know your local laws.  I would avoid having multiple people pay the application fee until you have screened the previous applicant (unless you have an option to refund it).  The platform I use for my personal rentals doesn't allow refunds, but my brokerage system I use for client properties allows us to refund before "processing" their application. So probably best to tell them that the first one in will get priority (but don't promise that unless you intend to honor it).  Good luck!

Welcome @Donald Thomas!  Like they say, the first step is the hardest.  What part of Washington are you in?  If you're in the Seattle area, I'd be happy to meet up and give you my personal insights (I'm in Lynnwood).  Just send me a private message.  If you're going to look somewhere outside of your home market, best to find a place where you have family connections, or know some people you can trust.

Thanks for sharing @Gabriel Graumann!  Especially the lessons learned.  I’ve thought of doing something like this, but you help see the pitfalls in this type of project when you don’t have people with the right experience involved.  So did you end up with a small profit, or basically break even with all the fees of selling?

I haven't used any of the fancy software packages (except for Appfolio for one property I manage professionally), but I've had a great experience with cozy.co.  It sounds like you can do most of what @Autumn Bernier mentions.  You can set up each property separately, and can export your income and expense transactions per property (or on selected properties), so it doesn't matter what your ownership structure is.  Also love the tenants paying for their own credit check and I just get the results.  Listings push out to several sites, but I also use Zillow (which now offers a lot of this too, but I haven't tried it's services beyond posting listings).

Welcome @Jim DeCaro!  I think getting going on some RE investing is really good, especially with the type of work you do. You'll find lots of good info here.  And if you're able to do a lot of repairs, etc. yourself, that creates more opportunity.  Yes, there are lots of duplexes in certain areas, just depends on the zoning. Lots of opportunities in Snohomish County.  I have my own investments in the city of Snohomish.