All Forum Posts by: Tracy Ross

I'm following this post!

I have heard about using Life-Insurance as an investing strategy but I have never seen an actual representation of doing it. 

Thank you for this thread!

Are you working with a local agent? Having a buyers agent is a great way to someone advocate and negotiate for you! That agent will have more data and experience from their local MLS to run comps for you. And with the right buyers agent it could be a long lasting and fruitful relationship that can bring you more deals that are pocket listings or off market! Hope this helps!

Everyone is scared on their first investment- but how many times have you thought "wow I wished I would have bought 5 years ago?" Well in 5 years you'll be glad you started now. Sometimes all you have to do is close your eyes and jump! You've got this- and this community is all here to help you find the right investment for you!

Investment Info:

Townhouse buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $172,000
Cash invested: $10,000
Sale price: $271,500

Row home in desirable Beaverton, Oregon outside of Portland. 3 Bedroom, 2.5 Bath 1464 sq. ft. Bought as Primary, lived in for 1 year then rented for 3 years.

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

This was my first investment deal. It got me started on my investment journey and I think it's a great way for a lot of young people to start. House-hopping by buying a primary, fixing it up while you live in it and then renting it and moving into another primary is a great way to get started in Investing using conventional loans.

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

I used a real estate agent, Sharon Bloudek, in Portland. She is the Primary Broker/Owner of Living Room Realty.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional financing 5% down

How did you add value to the deal?

Light remodeling. Paint, flooring, new back deck, light fixtures, etc. The value was in holding this property. The appreciation in Portland in those years was great.

What was the outcome?

I sold this property in 2017 to purchase a home in Bend, OR- which then appreciated $75,000 in one year before it was sold and used to purchase a home in Boise. That home then appreciated $165,000 in two years and was used to leverage another primary and my short term rental.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

This was my first experience with tenants which made me initially gun-shy to long term investing. I had all sorts of issues with my tenants. Keeping chickens in the garage, having a home water birth on the carpet, overloading and blowing outlets, just plain dirty and destructive.
That's when I decided to use the money from this property to house hop and fix up primaries. What I learned was that you can't have an emotional investment in your properties.

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

Sharon Bloudek- Living Room Realty Portland, OR. She is incredible! If you're looking for property in the Portland area give her a call!

Investment Info:

Condo buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $365,000
Cash invested: $30,000

Short Term rental condo on the Oregon Coast. Has had 95% Occupancy since purchase. Staged with light remodeling.

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

Finding rentals on the Oregon Coast can be hard. Oregon has a lot of STR rental restrictions in a lot of counties. I became interested in picking something up here because this is where I like to vacation. The coast can be a beautiful place year round, and Lincoln City, Oregon has one of the best and longest beaches in the state. I liked this property specifically because it offers more than just the condo. It has a pool, game room, laundry and it's close to the casino and downtown.

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

I had a local real estate agent and I called the listing agent on every property to find out if they knew about any short term rental restrictions for each place. This also worked to my benefit because I developed a relationship with the listing agent on this property that came in handy when we had problems with the financing due to condo insurance issues.

How did you finance this deal?

I financed this deal using a HELOC on my primary and purchasing this as a second home with 10% down instead of 20. I am hoping to do a refinance to cash out and leverage this property to purchase the next one. This property has cash flowed $2000/month during the summer and I'm estimating $1000/month for the year, so I have room to leverage this place for another one.

How did you add value to the deal?

Many homes and condos on the Oregon Coast are very dated. I only had to do some up to date staging and light remodeling of this condo to get it rent ready.

What was the outcome?

Great cash flow investment for the long term. Potential appreciation to cash out refinance this for another rental. I would 100% buy another vacation STR on the Oregon Coast

Lessons learned? Challenges?

We have on site property management and I would never try to self manage a coast property. There are a lot of maintenance issues with the salty air and having someone onsite means occupants are always taken care of in a timely manner.

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

Char Brown of At The Beach Real Estate is very knowledgable about coastal properties and Breanne Borgaard of Keller Williams in the Portland area worked as my buyers agent. She also helps a lot of buyers on the coast.