All Forum Posts by: Joseph Plaugher

Thank you both for your responses. That is good to know. I'll factor that into my future deals.

Hello BP members. I was talking to a potential funding partner of mine yesterday and he asked whether the property taxes in Oregon or Washington are better (i.e. lower) for real estate investing. I looked into it and discovered they are significant in both states. 

I'm curious about how this affects cashflow. For example, for a $167,000 home in Washington State, the taxes this year are $3280, which comes out to $273 monthly. That seems like quite a chunk out of your monthly cashflow (if it were a rental). Is this typical, or do Oregon and Washington have particularly high property taxes? Perhaps you would simply avoid owning a home that expensive as a rental?

Thank you for any input or comments.

P.S. I understand this is just another expense that must be accounted for when evaluating the deal, unless there's some caveat about deducting it or something that I'm not aware of.

Hello real estate investors in the Portland area!

I have a career - related assignment for a college class I'm hoping someone can help me with. I need to job-shadow someone who is in a career that I would be interested in. I am very interested in a career in real estate investing (obviously, I'm on biggerpockets).

I humbly ask if a real estate investor in the Portland area would mind letting me just come along for the ride for any number of hours you'd be comfortable with during this week or next so I can observe your day-to-day investing activities. I can't offer you much in return except for maybe buying you a cup of coffee or a pint for your time.

Please feel free to call, text, or email at 971-373-1740 or [email protected] if you're at all interested in doing this. Thank you all, in advance, for your assistance.

Joseph Plaugher
Concordia University - Portland

@Matt Devincenzo Thank you for that. What you describe almost sounds like an IPO rather than a partnership. I think that makes sense. Obviously you wouldn't need to offer an IPO for a 6 unit, so I guess this doesn't count as syndication.

@Wade Sikkink The deal you describe is exactly how I hope to structure my first deal, thanks! Could you talk a little bit more about, "as it was profitable my equity grew?" Do you mean that you had a claim to any appreciation while your partner had a fixed return or what do you mean by that?

@ANISH TOLIA I see what you're saying. On the first note, what exactly are you bringing to the deal?: many of the people I would approach for capital are not real estate investors and do not intend to put in the time to learn about it, much less to find a deal on their own. I bring the knowledge and the time to get it done.

Do you think that someone would be much more willing to partner with me on a sfr (or perhaps a duplex or triplex) than the 6-12 unit?

@Giovanni Isaksen That is a great check list of things to have in order. Thank you. Your last point is something I've wondered about; I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to have investors ready before I actually find a deal or if I should have the deal ready before I even approach my network.

Is it common for the cash reserve to be included in the investment amount being asked for?

Jean and Andrew; Thanks for the words of caution. Am I correct in that the keys to these kinds of deals and their risk mitigation (and any deal, for that matter) are thorough due diligence and effective ongoing management? (And a cash reserve, of course)

As a quick side note: what exactly defines a "syndicated deal?"

Its good to hear you say that what I want to do is doable this early on. Thanks for the encouragement!