All Forum Posts by: Travis Athougies

I think it's telling that the only people encouraging you to buy in Portland are those that stand to make money from more REIs in the area (a property manager, a contractor, and an agent). The one voice saying not to buy is a Real Estate Investor from San Diego.

For me, as a recent Portland transplant as well (moved for family), looking to get into real estate investing, I was hoping pre-COVID to get into the market locally, but now I'm thinking I may start looking in the outer suburbs, perhaps north of the border in Washington), or in other states completely. Portland is a trash heap right now, and it's not looking good. All my colleagues are attempting to move to states like Tennessee, Florida, Texas, and Arizona.

I would buy in Portland if I felt the prices were low enough and that the market was underpricing the potential uside, but right now it seems that the market is overvalued if anything. You cannot honestly tell me that a mediocre house located next to a stinking trash heap is worth 500k+. That's insane.

My parents are getting older and want to move into a home closer to us. We live in Portland, but because of the tax consequences of no income tax, they would prefer to remain in Washington. They currently live in rural Washington, but want to move to Vancouver to be closer to grand kids and us.

I am supportive of this, but because my brother lives far away, and the reality that the house they buy here will end up being given to my wife and I when they die, they want to split the proceeds from their current home with my brother, which I am in support of.

That leaves them around $350k to buy a house. At the same time, I want to get started in real estate in the local area, and due to Oregon's laws, I'd rather start in Vancouver. I proposed to my parents, that, instead of buying an SFH, we jointly buy a duplex or home with an ADU in Vancouver, expand their budget a bit, and use their cash out from their home as down payment, while I pay the mortgage on the new home. We'll rent out the ADU / other unit, and take the income, which my parents are happy to give to us. My dad used to be a real estate agent and property manager, and would manage the property for day-to-day issues (he's excited to do this -- he's always wanted to own a rental). My parents are happy that they will give my wife and I a source of income when it eventually becomes fully ours. I am happy to get started in real estate while having the help of my dad.

So, now I'm in the market looking for a home with an ADU or a duplex with limited shared walls (parents need single story for old age) in Vancouver. I see lots of such listings in Portland, but not as many in Vancouver. With the new arrangement, I'd be willing to go up to 550k. We'd also be interested in a house with an easy-to-add extra unit, such as a large lot, above garage addition, etc.

Are these easy to find in Vancouver? Does this seem like a sensible plan? Does anyone have recommendations for agents in Vancouver? Thanks for the tips.

Travis

I actually liked that one too, but my wife said no. As we said, the first and foremost use of this property is for our own personal use, so we are 'lucky' in that price doesn't matter so much, as long as we can afford the house itself. We're kinda tied down to the area due to family constraints, so we have to live here. The rental option is just something I want, because it'll make it easier to buy actual investment property in the future. As others have mentioned, landlord-tenant laws are not super friendly in Portland or Oregon in general.  Fortunately for us, in the kinds of units we are looking at -- attached ADUs mainly, some duplexes -- we have quite a bit of advantage in that it is going to be owner occupied. If there is a door between units (most of the ones we've seen do have them), then this is enough to trigger laws much more generous to the owner.

Anyway, I'd probably purchase actual residential investment property in other states, or look into commercial stuff.

Thanks for the response Matt. Yes. Our primary concern is for now, a nice neighborhood, for us to live in. Of course, hopefully our living sense is also one that will attract rents at a good price.

That's interesting about number 2, and something we've come to realize when looking at homes. I guess the next question is what level of problems we're willing to accept. Obviously, with the baby, our sense of danger is a bit heightened, which I think sometimes prevents us from looking at things rationally.

We're totally happy to borrow. I have a great job and we've saved up tons of money, so we're willing to pay the price to get what we want. I think you're right about building v buying. We really want to be able to rent out as soon as possible.

We've also decided to look at things a bit closer in. My wife wants me to have a shorter commute (and I don't like long commutes anyway). I think Irvington, Laurelhurst, Kerns, and Sullivan's Gulch are some neighborhoods we've added to our list. They're a bit closer to the MAX line than Woodstock. 

Thanks for the tips.

Travis

After a few years away, my wife and I have moved back to the Portland area with our baby girl. We're hoping to buy a duplex or a detached SFH with an ADU/mother-in-law apartment. We want a walkable enough neighborhood, and I want a reasonable commute to work (<40 minutes).

I haven't noticed much multi-family inventory in the markets we are most interested in -- Sellwood, Woodstock, the Morelands. We're most interested in small duplexes. Triplexes and four plexes are likely too much for us to chew off at this point. I am now considering more seriously a detached home with ADU or with ADU potential (Perhaps a basement). This property is not just an investment, but one that we plan on living in. However, I still want it to make financial sense. I'm willing to pay more for a turnkey property, but there seems to be few of those available.

I'm wondering about the feasibility of converting a basement or garage into an ADU for that extra income. If so, can anyone guide me in reasoning how much this should cost so that we can keep our total cost down to our price targets (<$800k)?

On the other hand, I'm not sure if we need to wait longer for inventory to become available.

Additionally if anyone has any back of the envelope calculations or tips on how to choose an owner-occupied duplex / SFH with ADU, that would be appreciated. I'm not sure if the 1 percent rule really applies in the PDX market, but we're kind of committed to living there, as we have family and I work downtown.

I guess finally... are we going about this the right way?