All Forum Posts by: Mathew Wray

@David Mills

I'll echo what Jay and Steve said-check out RareBird and then come up with what works for you...ultimately you're only accountable to yourself so make sure you know what you're buying and then go for it! 

As for Portland, like every other market in the country we've got some good things and some bad things, but bad for you might be great for someone else, so it's all a matter of perspective and what you're trying to accomplish. Appreciation has slowed here (latest report for last month puts it 1% over the last year-but that's an average) while inventory isn't increasing (still at 2.3 months which is where it's been hovering for the whole year) either. In the end, we still have a housing shortage which will hold us in good-stead as investors over the long-term.  

Congrats on getting your debt paid down...it's a huge step that will help you jump into investing with more confidence and more of a cushion for when things don't go according to plan!

Best of luck,

Mathew

@Adrain Mathews,

Sounds like you've got a great head on your shoulders with a solid plan but understanding that there will be flexibility there as well. Having a background in the trades definitely won't hurt you! If you haven't already done so, I'd start seeing places in NY now, in preparation for coming back here. Assuming your girlfriend will be living with you, you'll want to calibrate on what's "liveable" for you and for her! House Hacking and improving as you go is fantastic, and you'll want to start with a base property that you can both agree on...I'd say your relationship should be your first filter! So go look at some fixers there in NY and ask yourselves, could we live here while we fix it up? That'll get you ahead of the curve when you come back here to Portland!

Alberta and the Cully neighborhood have certainly changed! I grew up in St. Johns and while there have been some MAJOR changes, it's still not as drastic as Alberta. There are lots of opportunities here in town, but like you said in your post, they're generally suited for long-term equity building plays. 

Where ever you end up, just keep a few fundamentals in mind and you'll do fine! 

Best of luck,

Mathew

Morning @Jeff S.

I'd say whatever you do, leave it easy to undo! If you're going to put up a porch and a great backyard, I just wouldn't go overboard on the plantings/fencing/porch work so that in the future you can remove the upgrades and develop there. The Oregonian had an article in it this morning about the Portland pushing back on the infill mandates from the state and trying to tack on extra requirements (shocking!) so it'll be at least a year before anything official rolls out. If you're not in a hurry and can afford to wait, why not turn it into something that may make tenants want to stay (a better backyard) or could potentially generate income (parking)? 

Having that 33X100 lot in close-enough in Portland is a good problem to have!

Mathew

Morning @Jennifer Smith

Here's a quick link to a City of Portland article on when a permit is needed for different projects:

https://www.portlandoregon.gov/bds/article/92685

You're right, that the city is working on making a detached ADU legal on a lot with a duplex/split home, but we're not quite there yet. Lots of non-conforming properties are split, doesn't mean it's allowed or won't get you in trouble if something goes wrong. As the city starts in on their rental registry, best to just start above-board and doing it the right way, even if that costs you more in the short-term or prevents you from achieving your ultimate goal.

Double thumbs up on the refi/LOC while you're owner occupying the property. Big mistake I made a couple years back in not doing the same thing. Get the better rates and LTV now while you're living there, just be cautious not to get over-leveraged/waste the LOC/refi funds on things that don't grow your portfolio.

Best of luck,

Mathew

@Travis Athougies

Welcome back to Portland!! and congrats on the growing family!

A couple thoughts on your post:

1. Since you're combining strategies, with one large goal to take care of your family, I'd worry less about the financial sense of the deal and more about the life sense of the deal. I know that goes counter to what many would say, but from your post you seem more concerned with having a great life for your family (easy commute, walkable, safe, etc). So I'd start with that as your first filter and then financials second. It doesn't mean you ignore the financials or buy just to buy, but it does mean that I'd focus on the life you want to build for yourselves first and then worry about the income it generates. 

2. Like Chris said, you're going to be buying someone else's problem (nobody sells a golden goose in a great location at a great price.) Portland is in a unique spot right now working through some rental regulations (both city and state-wide) that have the market in a bit of a tizzy...some are pulling out, some buying in, and some are just sitting and waiting. Regardless, our inventory levels have remained fairly steady over the last three years. We saw a spike in Q4:2018 and Q1:2019 but are back down in the low 2 months worth of inventory now which is where we've been hovering around for awhile. While I expect that to continue to fluctuate and slowly rise over time, I don't think (no crystal ball here!) that we're going to see a major change in inventory in the next 4 months...

3. As for cost to build and ADU, I'd focus more on interest rates (we're at a 3 year low) allowing you to borrow long-term money extremely cost-effectively rather than on the price to build. If you can buy in to a SFR with an ADU (there's some new builds in Sellwood that have nice ADUs) at 3.7% interest, are you going to get a better return than shoveling 100K+ of your own money into building out an ADU?

You totally seem to be on the right track with your mindset and locations and are just working through the rest of the equation!

Best of luck!

Mathew

100% agree with @Neal Collins 

You know city inspections aren't far behind!

Congrats on getting a tenant in there! 

It'll buy you some time to decide how you want to proceed!

Morning Ryan!

Pricing can be tough to compare because you're not always comparing apples to apples. Or even apples to fruit. With different methods that others have already talked about, it can tough to figure out what you'll actually be paying as a management expense. 

If you're talking about a place renting here in Portland, you've got to keep in mind that the constant churn of new rules and regulations coming from the city and state are driving overhead costs up for PM companies as well. It's a tough business to operate effectively, especially in our environment...what I'm really saying is that a number of PMs I've talked to in the last few months are actively raising fees for their Portland rentals (and some across the board) to help with the extra staff, time, and attorney consult fees they're incurring due to the new laws. 

Best advice is to talk to a few more and compare not just fees, but also what they do and what their reputation is. Ask yourself, when was the last time you went the cheapest route with a purchase of anything and were happy with the result?

Mathew

Without knowing specifics, my gut still says to keep it. Rent rooms out, stockpile cash, and in a few months when your year of living there is up, move on to another and repeat. If the name of your game is long-term, then don't give up a house that was basically free to you. I've used my VA loans a couple times and one of my regrets was selling one of them vs. refinancing into a conventional loan. I'd be cautious about equating activity to advancing.

Maybe your best bet is to sell and buy something else with your VA loan, taking this year as a learning lesson. But if you can keep the underlying asset and still have learned the lessons then why sell?

Morning Wenqian, 

What are your goals for investing in Portland? Although we're not as pricey as the bay area, we're also certainly not an inexpensive market and there are trade-offs to investing here. Knowing some of that in advance will help make sure you are connecting with the right folks. 

Happy to talk more if you have questions,

Mathew