All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

@Jeff Hartley in portland, the minimum ceiling height is actually 6 ft 8 inches. I know this because I am building a basement ADU currently. Here is the Portland link: https://www.portlandoregon.gov/bds/article/93019

I believe the current code would apply but it would especially apply if your client is planning on pulling permits to finish the basement.

For Clackamas County I found the following info that may be helpful:

https://www.clackamas.us/building - on the page is an email address and phone number you can call for help.

Link to the Building Code website:

https://www.oregon.gov/BCD/pages/index.aspx

I've used PenFed credit union to get a HELOC with 80% LTV at interest rate of Prime + 1% on a non-owner occupied property. Process was straight forward and easy.

@Katrina B. - I do believe we met at that investment class. Good to see you here on the forums as well. Thanks for tips on Keller Williams, I do think I will meet with them to see what they have to offer. I take my exams tomorrow...so now I have to really start the interviewing process. 

Thanks for the tips. Let me know where you end up, I would love to keep in touch.

@codyjurgens There is a local Portland ADU specialist that gives consultations to home owners thinking about ADU's. He does 2 hour consults on site. I went to one of his ADU workshops at Earth Advantage in downtown Portland recently. I am sure he has contacts on good builders for ADU's. PM me for the website/details if interested.

@Mike Savage Pretty sure this requires a property management license. You can check out ORS 690.010 Section 14 (h). This is because you would be engaging in Professional Real Estate activity as defined in the above stated statute. You may want to verify with a lawyer. If you do not accept compensation for helping your friend then it would be fine. Just letting you know.

(edit) - I'm just learning this stuff in my class for getting a Real Estate Brokers License...this question will most likely be one that is on my exam that I'm getting ready to take within a week. A license is not required to manage your own properties. Thought I would share.

@Kelvin Lee wow thats a higher number than I thought? Is it possible to reduce the annual premium with some earthquake retrofitting like seismic anchors or anything like that?

@Josh Friberg How does one go about investigating teams. It seems like a team is a good way to start to learn the ropes and get trained on the job with practical experience after a short amount of time.

@Joel Owens Your comments make total sense that people can tend to over inflate their abilities. Personally, I make pretty good money as an electronic engineer and I have some decent cash flow properties right now. My goals for real estate is to learn as much as I can, and if it works out, transition over into a new career with my rental properties as a backup source of income. 

I actually also had the same situation. I worked with the tenants to set rules such as if any violation comes up that would be grounds for cause. I then called at least 10 insurance companies until I found one that would openly allow pitbulls. The cost was not much more ($50 a year more). I feel bad for the pitbulls, they need to go somewhere but the owners also need to be responsible with them and as long as you make that clear then you shouldn't have a problem.

@Foster Algier My opinion is that there are two things going on. Seattle and Portland have some of the lowest inventory in the country...not sure about Dallas - that is fueling the gains purely from supply and demand. On the other hand, low interest rates for the last decade have also helped spur housing inflation. 

We dont have the loose credit standards like we did in the last recession, but if they do loosen up then I would start to get worried.

One sign of loosening I've recently read is that fannie mae will  (as of July 29th 2017) allow borrowers to have a Debt-to-Income ratios of %50 instead of the current %43. That would allow people to have access to more credit than before potentially adding fuel to the housing gains seen around the country.

@Megan S. - finding something in portland for ~200k is next to impossible unless you are talking deep east Portland or maybe the suburbs? But even then, I've looked, very little for sale around 200k and even less so for 2 units.

As for building onto your existing unit, you can schedule a visit with the bureau of development services (BDS) downtown and tell them what you are thinking and they will tell you if it's possible plus a whole lot of other stuff you didn't know.