All Forum Posts by: Zachary Schnautz

Hey Joe, as others have said the city of Seattle is not a great place for cash flow. I've been looking for a deal to start my portfolio and have decided flipping is a better route to go than going for cash flow. We're looking outside of the city (Lake Stevens, Marysville, Monroe) and we've been outbid several times for properties selling way over asking. The one duplex we saw that had the best cash flowing potential of all was in Everett and listed for 480k and sold for 570k. If cash flow is your goal, like others have said Tacoma is probably the best market that's relatively close, and I would definitely look for value add opportunities to create some equity rather than paying for it in cash. If that's something you're interested in let me know, I have a lot of connections in the remolding world in the Seattle metro area. 

Hey Joe, I've worked in the remodeling industry for a few years so I've got a few connections I could share with you. What kind of work is she looking to get done? Just general handyman maintenance? 

Hey Miguel, how are you liking Guam? I imagine the virus might have a hard time getting all the way out there.

I'm in a similar position to you in terms of starting my investing portfolio and what I've decided would be a good move is to live and flip my first property (which allows me to use a low down loan if owner-occupying) and most likely sell and roll those profits into a down payment on a small multi family to house hack. I'm not sure BRRRRing it would work too well since the value add would need to be very significant to reach a 80/20 LTV and still pull out enough for a significant down payment on another property, but then again I'll have to pay closing costs twice and (if I sell in less than 2 years of occupancy) pay taxes on the gains.

You have the benefit of the VA loan for the property you choose to go with, which will allow you to bring very little money to the table; however, if your primary goal is cash flow, obviously the less money down the less you will cash flow. Since Washington is already a hot market and more difficult to cash flow than other states, this means the deal you may have to get creative in finding a property that will cash flow considering these 2 factors. I would suggest building up your reserves as much as possible in the meantime to help afford more of a down payment and researching how you can find great deals in the area. With the beer bug going around the near future of our states housing market is a little uncertain but it's possible we'll see some more deals in the next 6-12 months and hopefully interest rates will remain low as well.

When you make your way over here, let me know if I can be of any additional help! I'm a newly licensed agent but my primary goal is to work with investors and like minded individuals, so if I can help you out in any way feel free to give me a shout. I work in the remodeling industry as well, so if you need any advice in that world or any kind of contractor I've got connections.

Hey Dane! Sounds like a solid plan, I may reach out in the somewhat distant future once my portfolio is more established and I can expand, but student housing definitely seems like a great market to get into. My older brother is at WWU and rents one of the four rooms in his student housing apartment. Each student has their own independent lease and pays a flat rate each month. Seems like a great way to avoid vacancy, but I imagine turnover is more frequent! Let me know if you ever head further down south (like Snohomish county) and need some intel on the area. I'm an agent but my goal is to work with investors and learn how to build my portfolio as well. Anyways, good luck!

Hey everybody,

Newbie investor here seeking some guidance. Like many here, I'd really like to get the ball rolling and purchase my first deal. Specifically, a 2-4 unit fixer upper I can fix up and rent out. I've worked in residential remodeling for the last 4-5 years, so most of the rehab I'm hoping to be able to accomplish with as much sweat equity as I can. Where I'm needing guidance the most is in terms of financing the initial purchase. I'm still talking to different lenders to get pre-approved and learning about loans but from my understanding there's not many loans for a low down 2-4 unit owner occupancy, especially for a property in enough of a disrepair for significant value add. The FHA loan is one that keeps being brought up, which I have a few concerns about. First of all it's sounding like FHA loans/appraisers can be sticklers about the physical condition of the property, which is counter intuitive to the goal of finding a property that's not in great condition. The other concern I have for 3-4 unit properties is the self sufficiency test. In my market (greater Seattle area, specifically Everett) it seems to be generally accepted by the REI scene that most properties just don't cash flow as well as they do in many other parts of the country. When it comes to self sufficiency and the supposed 25% vacancy factor FHA appraisers account for it seems like any given 3-4 unit could easily fail this test.

Unfortunately, given the price of properties in my market, I don't think I'll be able to come up with anything greater than 3.5% anytime soon. I did just pass my brokers exam and a looking for a firm to work with so being able to represent myself as the buyer will hopefully allow me to leverage my agent status to my advantage. I'm hoping to get some guidance or advice from anyone who has done the same or faced the same challenged and how they overcame them.

I'm still new to this world and don't have a deal under my belt so I have a lot to learn, so any input will surely help out!

Hey everybody,

My name is Zach Schnautz and I'm a semi-long term lurker here just starting to post on the forums. I currently work as a facilities manager for a private school on the east side of Seattle in a city named Bothell. I've also recently completed my 90 hours of real estate coursework and passed the state exam and am looking for a firm to join with and begin transitioning into a career as an agent, and I'm hoping specifically to work with all kind of investors in the area. I'd also like to get into wholesaling a little further down the road. Before I started as a facilities manager I worked as a superintendent for a small, mostly residential but some commercial, contracting business for roughly 4 years and still do my own small residential remodeling jobs on the side.

I'm currently building some reserves through managing my finances and reducing expenses while maximizing my W2 savings in addition to my side work income, in hopes to start my investing career by house hacking a 2-4 multi family unit in the greater Seattle area. I'm looking specifically for a property with value add potential that I can put my remolding experience and knowledge into and utilize some sweat equity to jump start my investing career. I'm hoping working as an agent will give me better tools to find the right deal, since the market for 2-4 unit multi families in this area is very hot and very expensive.

I look forward to connecting with all like minded individuals and specifically anyone in my market!