All Forum Posts by: Jason Emery

I'm back from a hiatus and trying to formulate a real estate investment plan.  Still very new to this but I've been doing a lot of reading in the interim.  I have a job currently as a game programmer in Seattle, which keeps me very busy.  I've been investing in stocks, which has been okay, but it's increasingly risky as the market seems to be saturating on imagined returns.

My goals are to be able to afford a much better home than the condo I currently own and to visit ancient spots in Europe to inspire an eventual writing career (or similar) once I have enough to not need a full time job.  In addition, I want to be able to help people I know locally, setting money aside for that proverbial 'money pit'.

But to do that, I think I should start investing to build that residual income & savings instead of blowing it all on a home.  If I lost my career somehow, right now (imagine a bicycling accident!), I'd have a hard time making payments on the high home prices in this area!  Right now I am very stable and living way under my means, while I have the condo over half paid off.

A lot of what I'm seeing here is nudging me in the direction of turnkey rentals.  This is mainly because I don't have an enormous amount of time to find and manage properties and my risk threshold is low as I've not done this before.  One upside I recently discovered is that the tax benefits on my salary sound enormously beneficial while I'm still in a high tax bracket.

Let's say I could theoretically save up around 250k to invest.  Where would you begin?  Would you start down the road of some of these all-in-one companies that sell and rent for you in, for example, Ohio?  Do people find it unnerving to invest remotely in properties they will never see?

Just as importantly, is there some completely different angle I might consider as a new investor?

Make certain you read thoroughly through your HOA declarations. Many limit short term leases or sub-leasing altogether. Mine does.

Awesome, @Matt Motil!

Ohio is looking really tempting to invest in right now.  The best I've been able to deduce is that the dip there has finally ended and the city (at least around Cleveland) is getting its act together to attract more business.

My best guess is that, unless something else happens, the market there is SO depressed it can't go much of anywhere but up.

@Brian D.

Is this a situation where you can make an offer on the property or do you have the feeling what the fixed price is?

If you're learning, you could calculate what an acceptable price would be.  Or if you made an unusual deal with seller-side financing or some other exotic strategy.  Not that the seller might accept it, but if you are up front about why you'd pay less, you might get the seller to rethink whether they are overpriced.

Also, what is 'Rent-O-Meter'?  How did you determine that number?  Just curious there.

I'm learning this too. :D

I'm new, too, and in a similar boat in Seattle. The ROI for just about everything is so low here. I could make it work, but it's going to be a slow grind.

There's a few people on here who keep spamming the marketplace with Ohio properties. A few in Indiana. Both sound reasonable so far. And the ROI seems way higher. A 60k property returns about a thousand a month, before expenses. That seems equivalent to something around 100-120k here. And here you often have an overpriced HOA to deal with.

I admit it's a puzzle.  But it's heartening to hear people on here who are making it work despite the long distance!

A lot of people want to just help others out.  That's pretty natural!

In fact, that's one of the things I enjoyed being a lead programmer.  The whole point is to work with other people who are excited and feel good about yourself by teaching them how to code better.  Provided they're willing and receptive.

Makes the people in charge feel good about themselves.  And, often, they get something or other along the way.

--

Speaking of which I just went to one of our local BP meetings here in Kirkland, WA.  One of the members suggested I had enough cash to just become a private money lender instead of my plan to get rental properties.

Only problem is that there's little to no information anywhere about how to get started doing *that*.  All the books I've found are how to invest in real estate, not loan people money.

So it's back to research again.  Or posting on here to see if anyone can provide another point of view. :D

@Rich Ferradino - I had a friend who used to do mobile home investing.  He said that if the buyer defaults, it acts like a car and is repossessed in full to the seller.  I'm guessing you facilitate that?

Nope.  I've been browsing BiggerPockets and some other sites!

Now, if it had been the Seahawks again, maybe.  But that's just somehow more relevant than just football.

Consider it a good lesson.  I remember cleaning one place I was renting.  Did a crazy amount of work cleaning, only to forgot to wipe the top of the fridge.

Fortunately they didn't overcharge me and I got a good referral.

$1000 is probably a bit much.

Still, you learn to take your own pictures AND do the walk through in person with the property management.

Then, to check the reviews of any place before you move in.  There's some really nasty complexes up in Bothell, for instance, including one I once stayed at.   Management would do nothing, but they'd overcharge whenever possible.  We learned to never talk to them and give them any excuse to blame us.

I'm just starting to look into it myself.  Others have directed me to look at Everett and Auburn, at least near Seattle.

Though I live in Kirkland, it is a very expensive area.  Mind you, if you can find a good enough deal, most of King county is a premium location and likely to be price-stable, I would think, barring any huge factors.