All Forum Posts by: Kristin Whitaker

Hi Chad C.! I wouldn't say my situation is representative of Spokane overall. There are so many rentals here, more so than most cities I believe due to the depressed economy here. What's lacking, however, is higher-end, modernized rentals. I'm finding there is a crowd of college kids & young professionals hungry for a nice rental unit (and willing to pay a bit more for it!) They're certainly not the norm here, but a nicer unit brings a better quality of renter, and higher rents.

I've bought three stoves, two fridges, & one dishwasher on Craigslist at great prices, and have only had one issue with the dishwasher. In fact I suspect it was with the install, not the d/w.

Used is a good deal for those starting out without a lot of budget, however always remember it's buyer beware.

Awesome stories everybody, each one is inspiring.

Brandon Turner how'd you come up with the $100 per unit per month? Why not go higher? Did that just seem the most practical for your investment situations? Edit: read the 50% rule post, understand the $100/mo now :)

Dell Schlabach way to get up & shake the dirt off, thanks for sharing.

Great reply Mark Podolsky! Thanks for getting us started.

Interesting to see your success with raw land, it doesn't seem to be as prevalent an option as the others.

Let's face it - most of us are here because we want to make enough passive income to quit our day jobs. There's a TON of people here working towards that goal. I'm certainly not there yet, but love success stories, and every piece of knowledge helps structure future deals.

So full-time investors, could you tell us how you did it? What path(s) did you take, deals, etc that eventually led to enough income to quit your job?

Would love to see:

1. Investment Type:
2. Geographical Location:
3. Type of Financing:
4. How many deals done before taking the leap:
5. How much time from first deal to 2-weeks notice:
5. Ultimate Goal in REI:

Could be a fun topic.

Smelled one of my tenants smoking pot, just after WA legalized the darn stuff. Simply reminded her that "smoking of any sort is not allowed in your unit", and she apologized and stopped. Depending on the type of relationship you have with your tenant, face-to-face goes a long way. Anyway. It's been a long time since the original post, how about an update?

More concerning is entering the tenant's unit without notice..

Thanks Chris Clothier! Really looking forward to the opportunities here :)

Thanks Paul!

I am aware of at least one in my area, plan to introduce myself there as well.

Thanks for the welcome James!

Reno on all three units is around $25k and a TON of elbow grease. I did much of the non-technical work - always leave plumbing/electrical etc to the pros. Truth is I couldn't afford to pay someone else to reno the whole thing. Saved myself a bunch of money and learned some valuable skills.

House was getting low-end rents for the area at $1440, I now ask high-end and have only had two vacancies, less than 15 days each, since I started renting. House is near two colleges, as well as downtown area, so upgrades have attracted a higher end tenant.

Hello BPers of the world!

I'm finally coming out of Lurkville after some gentle urging. I've been on BP under the radar for about 6 months, gathering a wealth of information from the blogs mostly, via Twitter, as well as the amazing podcasts. Super stoked to get involved in this fabulous forum community!

Kind of a funny story about my first investment property in 2010, a triplex REO in Spokane, WA. I had no intention to get into REI. My employer at the time was REI savvy, however, and urged me to pursue the first-time homebuyer tax credit, which expired in TWO WEEKS. I had no thoughts of purchasing a house before that, and thought he was crazy, who could buy a house in two weeks?? So I did some research, found this great triplex at a great price, and it made sense - I could buy a house, and have someone else pay the mortgage for me! What a killer deal!! The rest is history. Rehabbed and upgraded mostly cosmetic issues, increased rents from $1440 to $2,020.

Time to do it again. I've got a knack for finding deals (multi-family is hot now around here) but lack investment funds. Looking to hook up with investors, preferably a local partner where we can take this area by storm. Currently about halfway through studying for real estate license.

My day job is marketing director. I love what I do, but I am obsessed with REI - spend all my free time researching it, listening to podcasts, driving around looking at houses, working on my own house. End goal is to create enough passive income through rentals to live comfortably on.

Went Pro even before my first post because I think this is an extremely valuable resource, and $5/month is the LEAST I could do to repay and support what the boys have built here. Stoked to support BP however I can.

Looking forward to interacting with and learning from you all!

Kristin