All Forum Posts by: Jonathan F.

I became an accidental landlord in Portland a few years ago when I decided to move out of my SFH and rent it out. It's been a good experience, so I decided to buy something else--a SFH in a hot neighborhood that I plan to convert to an owner-occupied duplex. Sale is now pending.

Being a newbie to real estate investing, I was trying to pay attention to what people on BP and elsewhere were saying about cash flow, the 1% and 2% rule, etc. It seems hard if not impossible to make these rules work in Portland unless you know how to buy houses for much less than retail, which I don't. And in any case, when I asked an experienced investor in Portland who rents out higher-end houses in the $2500/month range how he dealt with vacancies, he just gave me a blank look. He doesn't have vacancies. That's Portland for you. (Or, to be more accurate, that's Portland when you have a great house in a great location.)

I won't have much cash flow until the loans for the duplex conversion are paid off, but I think it's a great investment for the long term. I lack expertise in RE investing, but I do know my city quite well. That's worth something!

@Luke Miller 

Hey Luke,

Did you ever get any answers to these questions? I joined BP recently and have also thought about buying in Salem.

JF

Thanks, everyone. @Mike Nuss - interesting thoughts on Oregon City. The waterfront there is really quite striking, and I've wondered if that city might become much more desirable in the years ahead. It seems to have a bit of a stigma as the lower-class cousin of Lake Oswego and West Linn, but as you said, it has a lot going for it. Have you bought there?

Hello, BP folks--

I joined the site a few weeks ago and have been learning a great deal. It's interesting to see so many experts and novices mixed in together here. I'd put myself in the latter category for sure. I became an accidental landlord a few years ago when I moved into an apartment and decided to rent out my primary residence rather than sell it. Now I'm looking to invest in a few more buy-and-hold rental properties over the next few years.

The first thing that caught my eye were the super-affordable cash-flow markets like Cleveland, Dayton, etc. I also spent some time considering so-called turnkey properties in Memphis. Most recently, I've been looking at ways to invest closer to home here in Portland. It's a hot market and prices are high, but Portland is growing fast (without sprawling) and is expected to continue doing so for many years. I don't really need cash flow right now, just solid investments. I've also thought about investing in some of the cities around Portland, like Salem, Oregon City, and Vancouver WA.

I'm planning to attend a NWREIA meeting soon and would enjoy learning how other Portland-area people approach investing in this area. Thanks and see you around the site!