All Forum Posts by: Lacey Hunter

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Moses Lake.

Purchase price: $190,000

Custom-built 3 bed/2bath rambler with single car garage, fully fenced backyard and peek-a-boo views of Moses Lake. Less than a mile from the public boat launch/lake access and minutes from hwy 17. Home is located at the end of a dead-end street.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

MLS; owner had already moved so deducted his monthly carrying costs * 3 months from the listing price as it would take at least that long for an out of state owner to get the place ready to rent.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional 30-yr fixed

How did you add value to the deal?

Entire inside was in need of a neutral paint job (every room was painted a different neon color?!), electrical work had some DIY issues, deck needed staining, landscaping was not in great shape...knocked all of this out in a single weekend with some help from friends.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Jennifer Kron and the entire team at Moses Lake Realty are outstanding for support across the entire spectrum of services needed to purchase, rehab and rent out property across Grant County!

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Moses Lake.

Purchase price: $175,000

2nd of 3 Moses Lake fourplexes co-located with on site laundry, mailboxes, parking and green space for walking pets.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Leverage, leverage, leverage.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

This deal was posted along with many others by the same broker, owner, price and at the same time on MLS - I wasn't sure why a seller would dump all of their inventory concurrently - turns out that they'd legitimately won the lottery, purchased rental real estate across Grant County in bulk and decided to liquidate all of it at once instead of taking a strategic parcel by parcel approach. I provided my own desktop appraisal to support the offer we made (30% lower than list) and was accepted.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional 30-yr fixed

How did you add value to the deal?

The building was in need of repair across the board from interior to landscaping... the prior owners were paying for electricity out of pocket so prioritized that as the first 'fix.' Scoped and commissioned work with a local electrician + approval from the county to split the electricity so that each unit had its own meter and could be assessed individually. This bump in cash flow plus landscaping and exterior paint facilitated a successful cash out refi in 2019, 12 months post purchase.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Jennifer Kron and the entire team at Moses Lake Realty are outstanding for support across the entire spectrum of services needed to purchase, rehab and rent out property across Grant County!

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Moses Lake.

Purchase price: $175,000

3rd of 3 fourplexes in a small Moses Lake complex! On site parking, laundry and plenty of open lawn within the fenced perimeter for walking pets.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Leverage, leverage, leverage.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

This deal was posted along with many others by the same broker, owner, price and at the same time on MLS - I wasn't sure why a seller would dump all of their inventory concurrently - turns out that they'd legitimately won the lottery, purchased rental real estate across Grant County in bulk and decided to liquidate all of it at once instead of taking a strategic parcel by parcel approach. I provided my own desktop appraisal to support the offer we made (30% lower than list) and was accepted.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional 30-yr fixed

How did you add value to the deal?

The building was in need of repair across the board from interior to landscaping... the prior owners were paying for electricity out of pocket so prioritized that as the first 'fix.' Scoped and commissioned work with a local electrician + approval from the county to split the electricity so that each unit had its own meter and could be assessed individually. This bump in cash flow plus landscaping and exterior paint facilitated a successful cash out refi in 2019, 12 months post purchase.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Jennifer Kron and the entire team at Moses Lake Realty are outstanding for support across the entire spectrum of services needed to purchase, rehab and rent out property across Grant County!

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Moses Lake.

Purchase price: $175,000

1st of 3 Moses Lake fourplexes co-located with on site parking, laundry, mailboxes and plenty of green space for walking pets.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Leverage, leverage, leverage.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

This deal was posted along with many others by the same broker, owner, price and at the same time on MLS - I wasn't sure why a seller would dump all of their inventory concurrently - turns out that they'd legitimately won the lottery, purchased rental real estate across Grant County in bulk and decided to liquidate all of it at once instead of taking a strategic parcel by parcel approach. I provided my own desktop appraisal to support the offer we made (30% lower than list) and was accepted.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional 30-yr fixed

How did you add value to the deal?

The building was in need of repair across the board from interior to landscaping... the prior owners were paying for electricity out of pocket so prioritized that as the first 'fix.' Scoped and commissioned work with a local electrician + approval from the county to split the electricity so that each unit had its own meter and could be assessed individually. This bump in cash flow plus landscaping and exterior paint facilitated a successful cash out refi in 2019, 12 months post purchase.

What was the outcome?

Very successful.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Ignore the listing price and do your own math!

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Jennifer Kron and the team at Moses Lake Realty Group are outstanding. Highly recommend them for all aspects of real estate purchasing, property management, and sourcing good contractors.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Caldwell.

Purchase price: $195,000

Adorable 3 bed / 2 bath rambler on a corner lot with a fully fenced backyard and sideyard. 2-car garage and location within a quiet neighborhood with shared park/playground space a plus. Easy access to the 84 and minutes from schools and recreation.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Vern Manthie was incredible! Highly recommend him as a local, trusted expert in the Treasure Valley.

Oh man @Parker Eberhard... you can say that again.  I grew up in the Seattle area, left for college in LA in 2004 and bounced around San Francisco/New York following job opportunities before moving back in 2013 and it has definitely picked up more than its share of LA/NYC problems including drug addiction/homelessness and related crime.  Its really a shame...city has changed so much. Makes perfect sense on the condo front as a former owner - you are out on foot a lot (proximity being a primary perk fo condo ownership!) and really exposed to the neighborhood you're in...so if/when it takes a turn for the worse, you noticed immediately.  Not sure what the solution is but hoping things turn around before Seattle has the affordability and homeless population of San Francisco plus traffic of LA...its like city councils don't ever look at each other and figure out what not to do.

@Jonna Weber thanks for the great tip! We definitely will. I was really impressed with Caldwell when we were most recently there in May, it’s such a cute community!

Ah Tangletown is so cute! And no kidding on market timing - blind luck to be honest. Surprising how much the condo market has cooled off the last 18-24 months. I don’t really understand what’s driving it as the market for single family homes has stayed strong. @Parker Eberhard have you seen anything in your industry that might shed some light? 

Investment Info:

Other buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $335,000
Cash invested: $68,000
Sale price: $635,000

2 bed/2 bath condo with in-unit laundry, secure parking spot, storage unit and rooftop deck with straight on view of lake union and downtown.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

This was my ideal living situation as a single professional - easy commute to downtown via public transportation, walking distance to bars/restaurants, equidistant from two great lakes to run around (Lake Union and Green Lake!) and most important with 2 bedrooms/2bathrooms so easy to rent out the other room to bring in extra income to offset the mortgage.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Refin filters, thanks MLS! I was planning to negotiate and my realtor wisely suggested that I bite the bullet and make a full price offer - very glad I listened and made a full price offer.

How did you finance this deal?

Borrowed just about the max against my 401k to avoid PMI plus the bonuses that I'd saved to come up with 20%.

How did you add value to the deal?

This is an example of very fortunate timing. I did some minor plumbing fixed and I painted one wall. Thats it.

What was the outcome?

Selling this property in 2018 enabled me to fund my rental portfolio (see other posts). Luckily during the 5 years i owned this place I met and married my husband and moved in with him, enabling me to use this as a rental until running up against the max threshold for selling before owing capital gains. Because I was married filing joint when I sold, was able to shield a max of $500k of capital gains on the sale - so paid no tax on the gain (though did have to cover depreciation recapture)

Lessons learned? Challenges?

More option value is always better than less. I do wish I had looked for a duplex around this time instead of a condo, but it is what it is!

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Yes! Andrew Kim @ Windermere was a phenomenal agent and did a great job end to end with listing and selling my condo. He is thorough, sharp, has a deep knowledge of the Seattle market, is considerate and realiable in addition to being an all around awesome guy. Would recommend him to anyone looking to buy or sell a place in Seattle!

Investment Info:

Other buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $335,000
Cash invested: $68,000
Sale price: $635,000

2 bed/2 bath condo with in-unit laundry, secure parking spot, storage unit and rooftop deck with straight on view of lake union and downtown. Checked all of my must haves AND nice to haves moving back to the PNW from new york city and couldn't believe the price point ($/sf has unfortunately caught up with more expensive markets in King county...) This was a great place to live across the street from an express bus line and the extra room enabled me to have a roommate multiple times throughout my ownership to save money; when I moved in with my husband I rented the unit out completely for the 2 years prior to selling it.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

This was my ideal living situation as a single professional - easy commute to downtown via public transportation, walking distance to bars/restaurants, equidistant from two great lakes to run around (Lake Union and Green Lake!) and most important with 2 bedrooms/2bathrooms so easy to rent out the other room to bring in extra income to offset the mortgage.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Refin filters, thanks MLS! I was planning to negotiate and my realtor wisely suggested that I bite the bullet and make a full price offer - very glad I listened and made a full price offer.

How did you finance this deal?

Borrowed just about the max against my 401k to avoid PMI plus the bonuses that I'd saved to come up with 20%.

How did you add value to the deal?

This is an example of very fortunate timing. I did some minor plumbing fixed and I painted one wall. Thats it.

What was the outcome?

Selling this property in 2018 enabled me to fund my rental portfolio (see other posts). Luckily during the 5 years i owned this place I met and married my husband and moved in with him, enabling me to use this as a rental until running up against the max threshold for selling before owing capital gains. Because I was married filing joint when I sold, was able to shield a max of $500k of capital gains on the sale - so paid no tax on the gain (though did have to cover depreciation recapture)

Lessons learned? Challenges?

More option value is always better than less. I do wish I had looked for a duplex around this time instead of a condo, but it is what it is!

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Yes! Andrew Kim @ Windermere was a phenomenal agent and did a great job end to end with listing and selling my condo. He is thorough, sharp, has a deep knowledge of the Seattle market, is considerate and realiable in addition to being an all around awesome guy. Would recommend him to anyone looking to buy or sell a place in Seattle!