All Forum Posts by: Liwen Gu

Hi Josh, I live in Salem OR as well :) You say that you want to get into real estate full time, what are you planning on doing to generate regular income? How will you be able to qualify for a loan to buy your first investment property? 

Hi Benson, welcome to real estate! I just sent you a PM with some information on the brokerage I'm with (Cheddar Realty) to see if that's a good fit for you. Feel free to contact me directly!

I was thinking like you for about a decade after the Great Recession. I always felt like prices were too high, whether it's housing or the stock market and there was a time where I just held on to a lot of cash. Then I realized that I've missed out on all these wonderful investment opportunities around me and in the meantime I was still holding cash that was earning 0.1% interest rate. The truth is that no one can predict what the market will do in the future, the smartest person in the world can't tell you that. We simply don't know where the peak is. People may think it's the peak because prices have doubled but prices can double again...or prices can fall too. You know the disclaimer that you always hear "past performance does not guarantee future results"? I used to dismiss that but now I know the real significance of it. Anyway, to answer your question, "Is the housing market worth investing in right now?", my question to you is, "Do you feel like there is a better investment than the housing market right now?" If yes, then go invest in the other thing but if not, then housing is as good as any investment. The only thing that I would recommend is to keep some cash on the side as your emergency fund, housing is not as liquid as cash or stocks so if something unexpected happens, you are still okay.

Hi Chirag! My personal recommendation is to find a market that you are familiar with or at least have some knowledge of. Somewhere close to where you currently live or have lived or visited before. Seattle might be too expensive for you but there are smaller suburbs in Washington State that are much cheaper. The nice thing about Washington state is that property taxes are fairly low! 

I was browsing different markets across the country recently and after a while, I realized that even though some are cheaper than where I currently live (Salem Oregon), I'm not convinced that any of them are better than here so I've decided to just focus on the market here instead. 

I would keep it professional and don't get too friendly with tenants. Use your own judgment too, it's a similar question to..."should I date my coworker/employee/boss?" 😁

Hi, I'm looking for a property manager for my rental in Lakewood as well. I'll give RES a try, does anyone have any other companies to recommend? Thanks!

I agree with buying a larger multifamily or smaller properties all in around the same area rather than scatter them all over the country. It makes management a lot more efficient and easier to build a reliable team. 

Somewhere safe from climate change! Away from wildfires, tornados, hurricanes, etc. lol 

Personally, I would get a HELOC and look for a duplex to buy. I feel like as prices go up, a lot of first time homebuyers will be priced out of single family homes (many already are) and they need to look at alternatives like townhomes so your home should appreciate well. Also, a 2 bed 1.5 bath townhome should be fairly easy to rent. Duplexes are very competitive right now, especially ones that will allow you to owner occupy - If both units are occupied, the seller first would need to be willing to give a tenant a 90 day notice first which many are not willing to do so. I know you said that you can take your time finding a duplex after you sell your townhome, but how long are you willing to wait? Selling seems a bit risky to me...Anyway, those are my personal thoughts, I'd be happy to answer any questions. About the fireplace...if it's broken, maybe just board it up and don't allow the tenants to use it. I think that's safer anyway as a rental. Also a note about the market, yes the market is crazy right now but Salem is still quite affordable compared to Portland and many other areas in the country!

One agent per market is fine. Off market deals are fine too, I mean if someone gives one of my clients an off market deal that I don't have access to or even if the buyer wants to work directly with a FSBO seller, I'm not going to hold it up against them. I'm more talking about the scenario that if someone worked with multiple agents who are in the SAME region and providing the same listings from the MLS and if they are not upfront on what they're doing.