Skip to content
×
PRO
Pro Members Get Full Access!
Get off the sidelines and take action in real estate investing with BiggerPockets Pro. Our comprehensive suite of tools and resources minimize mistakes, support informed decisions, and propel you to success.
Advanced networking features
Market and Deal Finder tools
Property analysis calculators
Landlord Command Center
$0
TODAY
$69.00/month when billed monthly.
$32.50/month when billed annually.
7 day free trial. Cancel anytime
Already a Pro Member? Sign in here
Pick markets, find deals, analyze and manage properties. Try BiggerPockets PRO.
x
All Forum Categories
All Forum Categories
Followed Discussions
Followed Categories
Followed People
Followed Locations
Market News & Data
General Info
Real Estate Strategies
Landlording & Rental Properties
Real Estate Professionals
Financial, Tax, & Legal
Real Estate Classifieds
Reviews & Feedback

All Forum Posts by: Kimsua Chay

Kimsua Chay has started 2 posts and replied 10 times.

Sorry for the really late reply everyone. I appreciate everyone's input but my work schedule became real hectic the last two weeks and I ended up putting my condo up for sale after all. My plans are to still invest the profit elsewhere in rental properties and slowly build my portfolio over time. 

To answer a few questions though just for anyone else out there reading this and possibly in a similar situation I'll try to respond. 

As far as numbers go, I purchased the condo two years ago as a short sale for 135k. It took about six months to get it all done because the previous owner had two mortgages and we had a tough time getting responses from both. After we finally heard back, they counter offered at 150k (my initial offer was 127k or so) and we settled on the listing price of 135k after I told my realtor that was the highest I would go. I lucked out in finding the place on Zillow I believe as it had one picture of the exterior of the condo but nothing else. I decided to check it out anyways as I was scheduled to take a look at a few short sales and realized that with some work this place had a ton of potential. Of course that was with my original intention of staying for awhile vs flipping or renting it out for a profit. Once the previous owner moved out (that's a whole other story in itself as he refused to leave at the agreed closing date) I found that he had left the place in worse condition than when we last saw it. I had plans to remodel anyways and due to some contacts from my realtor I was able to save a ton of money and ended up only spending just under 9k for a lot of work. That includes a new quartz counter top, re-flooring to included laminate hardwood floors, high end stain resistant carpets in the rooms, new designer paint and trim, new master bathtub/shower and tiles, new tiled fireplace and some other things plus all labor. It was a one man show and took some about a month and a half or so but I wasn't in a rush and it was well worth the wait.

I'm not sure if I should put out too much info yet since we just went under contract but we recently listed my condo and found a buyer within a few days. We had a few offers and went with the highest one as it was a strong buyer basically got what I was hoping to get. Once it's all said and done I'll put exact numbers here but I figure I'll hold off for just a bit for now.

@Ruth Bayang Wish I could have made it but I was out traveling for work and flying a bunch of redeyes. barely had time to eat and sleep!

@Christian Wathne Sorry I'll get those numbers here in a few weeks once the condo closes. I'm not hiding anything but I'm also not sure if I should post anymore numbers given my full name is probably searchable through here.

@Cindy Liu I'm not quite sure when the last major assessment was but they literally just replaced all the roofs here last week. There's an annual $350 assessment they charge every year that plus they recently raised the monthly dues from $271 to $325. I ran that as part of my numbers if I were to rent which was why my rent would have had to have been pretty high to really cash flow any real decent numbers. That said, I haven't heard of anything coming up either but as you said I have no clue if they have anything else planned for the future.

Post: Newbie from the Seattle, WA area

Kimsua ChayPosted
  • Seattle, WA
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 3

@Tom Ott Thank you!

Post: Newbie here, Hello from the PNW!

Kimsua ChayPosted
  • Seattle, WA
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 3

Welcome @Aaron Kramer! I'm new here as well but everyone's been extremely welcoming and helpful so far!

@Matt Gragg @Jennifer Beadles

Thanks for the replies! The condo is starting to age (I want to say 16 years old) so I know those other factors have crossed my mind. The numbers show cash flow now but as you guys have mentioned it wouldn't take much to eat into that. I've got a property manager coming tomorrow to take a look and give me their thoughts but I'm leaning towards selling unless they somehow can show me some good numbers to convince me otherwise. 

Jennifer, I was planning on reinvesting the profits from the sale in the Midwest and TN was one of the area's I was looking at. Any chance you'd be interested in chatting about that?

@Ruth Bayang

Ideally I'd like to keep it for long-term cash flow. But my biggest worry is how sustainable the rent/cash flow would be long term and quite frankly my condo would probably go for more than it was ever worth in the 07 bubble. So part of me wonders if I should walk now with a substantial amount vs the cash flow numbers I've posted for the first two years. That said, if I had a crystal ball and knew that this condo would hold its value as it is now I would be fine renting it out for a few years and re-evaluating later of course.

Post: Newbie from the Seattle, WA area

Kimsua ChayPosted
  • Seattle, WA
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 3
Originally posted by @Lane Kawaoka:

Kimsua Chay what are you looking to do flip or buy hold. I think you need to get defined.

 Well I that's the million dollar question for me right now. My long term plan with RE investing would be to buy and hold and use that cash flow to be financially free since I still have a rewarding day job that I love and still have a lot of time off. Right now I'd rather hold but I stand to make a sizable profit if I flip and walk way. There's a lot of other factors that come in to play obviously (started a discussion in the local forum) and I'll have more info once a property manager drops by tomorrow to give me another opinion. Either way my plan is to invest elsewhere in the Midwest with the profits or through other means of financing so it's just a matter of what to do with my current condo as I have to figure it out pretty soon.

Post: Newbie from the Seattle, WA area

Kimsua ChayPosted
  • Seattle, WA
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 3
Originally posted by @Tamar Mar:

Welcome, @Kimsua Chay!  I think you are lucky to have landed in the Seattle area, if even for a brief stint.  It's my hometown and, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful places in the world (even on rainy days!).  

We have invested quite a bit in the South Sound - Kent, Des Moines, and Federal Way - and are now moving to MF investing east of the mountains.  I'd be happy to share what we have learned investing in that area. Reach out any time!  

Best of luck to you.  

 Tamar,

Thanks for the offer! I started a discussion over in the local forum but would love to pick your brain on your thoughts on the area. I'll PM you here in a bit.

Kimsua

Post: Newbie from the Seattle, WA area

Kimsua ChayPosted
  • Seattle, WA
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 3
Originally posted by @Michael Coxen:

Hi @Kimsua Chay! Welcome to BP! If you're looking for someone to talk to about Las Vegas, drop me a line. I'd love to share some knowledge on relocating here and show you around when you come to visit.  It's a great city!

Thanks Michael! I'll have to get in touch with you once things settle down and I'm down there. Would love to pick your brain on what you think of the area and potential for investing within the next few years.

Hey BP! So I'm a new member here and I currently own a nice 3 bed, 2 bath, 1 car garage condo up in the Lake Tapps/Lakeland Hills area. I happened upon a great deal on my condo (I believe I found it on Zillow by sheer luck) because of a short sale about two years ago when I was simply looking to buy vs rent as I was tired of moving around each year and trying to remember what my actual address is. I never realized the opportunity that I had stumbled into but I'm in a fortunate spot to really reap the rewards from it now.

With that said, I'm going to have to relocate out of state and I'm looking for some advice on whether I should sell for a sizable profit in this crazy market or keep my condo and rent it out as it can cash flow with the current rent prices in the area. I'm meeting with a property manager next week to get their opinion on things but I'm still trying to do my own research on it for obvious reason. I've also talked my realtor and he says the market is ridiculously hot and that pretty much everything he's sold minus one property has sold over by 5-15k above asking price so now would be a great time to sell. So that basically leaves me with the million dollar question, sell while the value is higher than it's even been for my condo (reinvest a large amount of it elsewhere after) or hold and rent it out for some cash flow?

I've looked (or I believe I have anyways) at all the numbers for renting and at the current rates with a property manager I can cash flow anywhere between $100-250 the first year followed by $170-350 year two depending on what we charge for rent. I could generate even more cash flow without a PM but given that I'll be living out of State and traveling that's pretty much not an option at this point. Ideally I would rather rent and hold but if the rental prices drop over the next couple of years I'll see a potentially significant hit to my cash flow.

The flip side to that is I can simply sell and cash out now while the market is good. I plan on reinvesting a significant chunk of that into other rental properties elsewhere so the profits would go to good use but part of me wonders if its worth holding onto this condo for longer and see if it'll appreciate even more and use the cash flow to pay down the current mortgage even more.

Thoughts?

Post: Newbie from the Seattle, WA area

Kimsua ChayPosted
  • Seattle, WA
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 3

@Account Closed

Thanks for the advice Ken! PM will be coming your way!

Post: Newbie from the Seattle, WA area

Kimsua ChayPosted
  • Seattle, WA
  • Posts 10
  • Votes 3

Hello BP!

First of all, thank you for all for contributing to this amazing resource and sharing all of your knowledge with new people such as myself. I had never planned on investing in real estate as it never really sparked my interest and always felt beyond my grasp of things until my friend Donna talked me into reading Rich Dad Poor Dad... And even then it was only a blip on the radar until she pointed me here towards BP.

I guess a little about myself. I'm currently an airline pilot at a "Legacy" airline here in the States. I've been on this road of chasing my dream of flying airplanes since I was young kid and I was recently able to accomplish that ultimate goal just a few years ago even though I've spent over a decade in the industry itself. It was tough road with not a whole lot of reward for the first ten years so the thought of real estate investing, or frankly doing anything besides trying to land my dream job, never crossed my mind. After reading RDPD I realized that I just happen to be in the right spot in my life (I willing admit I probably would have thrown the book away after a few chapters if I had read it ten years ago given where I was at in life) to start pursing other things that could give me a lot more financial security and a much better quality of life if I'd just be willing to spend a few extra days a month working on it.

So that leads me here to BP now as I'm looking to learn more and hopefully build a solid network that will allow me to accomplish my next set of goals. I'll also willingly admit that I'm more of a lurker on forums who tries to soak everything in than the type of person who's really active. Part of that has to do with my work schedule but with that said, I do like to contribute when I feel I can offer something of value and I do enjoy the networking and giving back when I can.

I should also add that while I'm up in the South Sound area (Auburn) of WA right now, I'm planning on relocating to Las Vegas as a permanent resident with a "crash pad" on the beach in the Southern California area for work as my domicile will be located there. I currently have a condo up here near Lake Tapps that I'm debating on whether to sell and walk away with a sizable amount in this crazy market or hold it and rent it for the cash flow. That's also another reason why I'm on BP. In the mean time I hope I can meet some great people a long the way and hopefully contribute in a positive manner as well.

Cheers!