All Forum Posts by: John Barrett

@Peter Guinto I would suggest you look up local meetup groups on meetup.com and join some of the numerous Facebook groups for real estate investing (there are a lot for the Seattle area).  This will allow you to see what other investors in the local area are doing and make some connections. 

House hacking is a great strategy and will help you get into a place with the least amount of money out of pocket as well as offset your housing expense.  Just remember, no matter how great your plan is, something will go wrong and having reserves sufficient reserves set aside will keep it at the level of problem / annoyance rather than a full on emergency.

Best of luck on your investing journey.

John

@Account Closed People respond to incentives.  That is as true for landlords as it is for tenants.  No one likes being told what they can or cannot do with their personal property. Given the sever shortage of housing in almost all of our cities but specifically the PNW, I argue the policy focus should be on creating new housing.  Nothing you have listed would facilitate the creation of new housing.  As numerous others have stated it only reduces the housing supply further hurting those most vulnerable in our society.

It's time our "leaders" started making the tough decisions that will lead to additional supply of housing (reducing burdensome regulations on building, as well as these unfair laws against landlords).  Unfortunately, until this happens our housing supply will continue to diminish in exactly the places it's needed most.  The irony is (in my experience) that small landlords provide some of the best (clean, safe & functional) market rate or slightly below in the vast majority of cities.  These types of policies are eroding the supply of those units. Just because people like to hate on landlords doesn't mean society will be better off without them and the service they provide.

John

@Sherief Elbassuoni Thank you for putting together this meet up.  It was really nice to get out of the house and have an opportunity to chat with other investors.  Looking forward to your next meetup.

@Iliya Muzychuk I think this will lead to fewer houses and apartments coming online / available which will further hurt the supply of housing.  So the dramatic shortages we are seeing seem likely to continue for the foreseeable future.  What happens once material costs (wood, components, etc.) and labor become more readily available is anyone's guess at what point that will happen. 

John

@Andrew Hecker I would suggest starting by looking on both meetup.com and local Facebook groups.  On both of these platforms you will find a number of people are getting together.  

I like the Cascadia Investor Alliance meetup in Marysville (not currently meeting) but there are also a number of virtual meetups that are scheduled during the week like the Seattle Investor Club.

John

@Andrew Hecker in person investor meetups are just starting to happen again.  I would suggest attending as many of these as your schedule allows.  This way you will be able to meet and learn from local investors who are investing in whichever niche is most appealing to you.  In this way you will be able to hear the challenges and struggles that folks are currently dealing with and that will be your opportunity to add value.

Best of luck,

John

@Ryan Beinner I would suggest that you start looking at the agents who are listing properties (for sale or rent) that most closely match the properties you would be interested in purchasing.  From this list you can then reach out with an email detailing the type of property you are looking for and the questions you would need answered to feel comfortable moving forward.

From this you can narrow down which agents are a good match to work with you.

Best of luck,

John

@Jack B. I think you might find it difficult to find a traditional bank that will look at just your rental income.  In my experience both small banks and credit unions can be very conservative in their lending.  A commercial loan is certainly an option but another option could be to look at an asset based lender like Certain Lending.  I know there are others out there doing the same type of loans but Certain Lending is the one I am most familiar with.  This way you can compare the rates / terms for each type of loan. 

I would suggest you reach out to @Nghi Le to find out if they are able to assist you.

Best of luck,

John

@Ethan Reiniger you have a received a lot of good advice here in the previous responses.  Besides the fact that appreciation is speculative, I would caution you to really look at the numbers on any house that you are thinking about.  Currently there is a sever shortage of single family homes in Seattle and the surrounding areas.  This has caused most houses to sell at prices above asking.  This means finding a property will be hard and the costs to get into the property will likely be high.  Both of these factors make it less likely that the property will be able to rent for enough to cover all the expenses (let alone positive cash flow).

Additionally, you will need to think about the transaction costs when buying and selling.  These taxes and fees can eat up a big chunk of your gains.

Best of luck,

John

@C. Buzzetta From the responses you have received so far, I hope you realize that you have clearly shown you are not a stupid person.  Very few things in life come to anyone completely naturally.  All things worth doing take time and effort.  Sounds like you have started on your journey of learning.  All you have to do is focus on getting slightly better / making small progress every day and you can achieve your goals.

I would suggest looking up local meetups in your area as this will allow you to network with other investors.  Building these relationships will allow you to see how others are doing things and learn.  There are a lot of resources available that will help you overcome any of the areas investing (math, lending, inspections. etc.) that are troubling for you.

Best of luck in all your investing.

John