All Forum Posts by: Jeremy Housekeeper

I'd go easy on the dad with the 21YO son still living at home. A lot of people in their early-20s are choosing to avoid moving out in order to throw more money at their student loans. Even still, he's working and having excellent credit so young is a plus.

For family 2, was the wife's bankruptcy chapter 7 or 13? If it's chapter 13, I'd check if she successfully completed her plan and the debt was actually discharged rather than dismissed; this will give you a greater feel for her discipline with regard to obeying a monthly payment schedule. For the husband in family 2, the fact that the garnishments were due to CC debt is a major red flag. Unless that debt was due to unemployment or a similar unavoidable circumstance (medical, etc), I'd run the other way.

@Lisa G. Usually garnishments due to CC debt occur as a last resort. He might have tried to negotiate a settlement with the collector but they might not have wanted to budge. Hard to tell.

Hey Tony,

Shoot me a private message, I've got a great guy in mind.

Throwing my hat into the ring a second time.

Consider the leverage implied by taking out a mortgage as well. If you pay cash for a condo, and because you're talking $350/month cash flow I'll assume that's essentially the monthly rent payment, your returns will be unlevered. At best what you've done is throw your cash into an asset that's somewhat inflation-resistant.

Factoring in vacancy, turnover, property management, and repairs and your actual cash flow per month will be lower than what you expect. In this case, why bother with the hassle of real estate at all? Throw your money into a low-expense indexed mutual fund and that'll give you a better return.

Now consider the house. Taking out a mortgage at 80% LTV is giving you a 4:1 leverage on your capital with the added tax benefits. Not only will the returns (albeit mostly locked up in equity) be greater but all of that interest can be written off.

What's the condition of the HOA for the condo you want to buy that cash flows at $350/month? Do they have enough liquid reserves? Is there a rent cap?

Also, are there any assessments on the horizon? A smaller unit would appear to have lower maintenance costs but if the complex needs a new roof you'll need to reconsider earlier calculations.

Consider your other exit strategies as well. If you want to sell down the road does a 1br/1ba make sense and is there laundry in the unit or is it community? Take a look at the parking situation as well.

@Rhonda C.

Calling North Bend the "Eastside" is playing fast and loose with the term. I've lived in Seattle/Kirkland for 15+ years and I've seen what happened with the tech boom...and the lion's share of that growth was in Seattle/Kirkland/Redmond/Bellevue. $200K for a condo in Bellevue/Redmond might be more reasonable.

Furthermore, $1700 for a 2br 1ba with 1000 sqft? If these are Zestimate numbers, look elsewhere. A more realistic estimate is $1200. This is still a place in the sticks with a 50 min rush hour commute to Microsoft and the like.

@Stephanie Dupuis Would living on Bainbridge or Bremerton really work out to be cheaper if ferry costs are added in? I checked WSDOT and they only sell monthly walk-on passes. Throw a car in the mix and that gets very expensive.

Hi Stefan, welcome to BP!

Nice to see another Eastsider on BP. Welcome!

Hi Chris and Jessica,

From one Washingtonian to another, welcome! I think you're positioning yourself well by starting around Vancouver and then trying Seattle. King County is expensive and can be a tough nut to crack, but it can be done.

Call Phil Maxeiner, CPA. He's in Kirkland, but given that you're in Renton that's only a quick jog up 405.

(425) 827-6100