Feeling Green - New Investor in Seattle Area

Member since 2022 · 7 posts · 0 votes

Hey people of BP! I am a new investor in the Seattle region and I'm doing some market research. Most of the neighborhoods in the greater Seattle area are out of my price range so I am considering other markets in the region such as Bremerton, Port Orchard, and Tacoma. Anyone have any success in the areas for fix and flip or buy and hold? Thanks!

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Michael HaasBusiness Member

Real Estate Agent · Redmond, 🌧️ Seattle Investor-Agent | 🤑 Helped 400+ Clients Invest in Real Estate | 🏘️ Owns 23 WA Rentals & Airbnbs | 🏗️ Built 5 DADU's | 📈 You Can Do It Too · Member since 2016 · 724 posts · 3k+ votes

You should be able to find average price-to-rent ratios for most of these neighborhoods with some paid tools + local know-how. In addition to our personal experience with our portfolio, we're using Rentometer, Mashvisor, and Neighboorhood Scout as our main paid data sources. Happy to shoot you those reports on any area you're interested in, just shoot me a message. Cheers!

[email protected]408-439-7873

HouseHack Seattle | Michael Haas & Team572 Reviews

Website View Page

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Julien J.
Investor · CO · Member since 2016 · 757 posts · 1k+ votes
4y
Welcome Zack!
I'm a fan of the North End for buy and hold: Everett, Snohomish, Monroe, Bothell, and Mill Creek.
1 Reply
Zack Parkins
OP
Member since 2022 · 7 posts · 0 votes
4y
Hey Julien!
Thank you! I think those areas sound great especially considering the expansion of the light rail system which will make commuting into Bellevue and downtown Seattle a breeze. It will only get better from here :)
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Natalie Roger
Realtor · Seattle · Member since 2021 · 14 posts · 8 votes
4y
@Zack Parkins welcome welcome!
I'm a big fan of the south sound but maybe a bit bias having called it home for many years. The areas you mentioned are great submarkets - along with lower prices I would also use rental demand as a criteria to narrow down your search. Getting a cheap house isn't a great deal if no one wants to rent it. I'm more than happy to talk strategy if you want!
1 Reply
Zack Parkins
OP
Member since 2022 · 7 posts · 0 votes
4y
Quote from @Natalie Roger:

@Zack Parkins welcome welcome!
I'm a big fan of the south sound but maybe a bit bias having called it home for many years. The areas you mentioned are great submarkets - along with lower prices I would also use rental demand as a criteria to narrow down your search. Getting a cheap house isn't a great deal if no one wants to rent it. I'm more than happy to talk strategy if you want!
Hey Natalie!

I can understand the bias, I grew up in Port Orchard and am a bit attached to that area! I do see your point about rental demand. How would you go about assessing rental needs in these areas?
0 Reply
Sergey A. Petrov
Real Estate Consultant · Seattle, WA · Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 784 votes
4y
Connecting with a local property manager will be your best bet in assessing the rental market demand. If you want to do it yourself, you can do a quick search on zillow, apartments.com, craigslist, etc and see how many similar properties are available now vs say September 1. If 20 are available now and only 1 as of Sept 1 you know they are sitting vacant waiting for a tenant. If only 1 is available now and there are 20 in September then 20 in October, etc you know they get re-leased quickly because there is only one vacancy now and none until Sept 1.
1 Reply
Dave Skow
Lender · Seattle, WA · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 899 votes
4y
@Zack Parkins Kitsap is a good idea ...Bremerton has some older worn properties that might be possible ...Port orchard is seeing a large growth curve and alot of entry level buiding is happening there ...if you get any more remote than the towns / cities - the proeprties might be tough to find decent renters for
1 Reply
Sherief Elbassuoni
Realtor · Bellevue, WA · Member since 2019 · 882 posts · 1k+ votes
4y
@Zack Parkins, these areas you mentioned are pretty good sub-markets. You will also need to do rental analysis by either contacting a property management company or a seasoned realtor who knows these areas
3 Reply
Zack Parkins
OP
Member since 2022 · 7 posts · 0 votes
4y
Quote from @Sergey A. Petrov:

Connecting with a local property manager will be your best bet in assessing the rental market demand. If you want to do it yourself, you can do a quick search on zillow, apartments.com, craigslist, etc and see how many similar properties are available now vs say September 1. If 20 are available now and only 1 as of Sept 1 you know they are sitting vacant waiting for a tenant. If only 1 is available now and there are 20 in September then 20 in October, etc you know they get re-leased quickly because there is only one vacancy now and none until Sept 1.

Hey Sergey,
Great idea! It sounds like you've done this yourself. Would you say it's accurate to assume that leases that are year to year likely start/end in summer? When attending college that's always when my leases would start/end but I just assumed that was the norm in a college town. Thanks for you time!
0 Reply
Zack Parkins
OP
Member since 2022 · 7 posts · 0 votes
4y
Quote from @Dave Skow:

@Zack Parkins Kitsap is a good idea ...Bremerton has some older worn properties that might be possible ...Port orchard is seeing a large growth curve and alot of entry level buiding is happening there ...if you get any more remote than the towns / cities - the proeprties might be tough to find decent renters for

Hey Dave!
I totally agree, I see crazy growth in Port Orchard and I suspect it to continue to grow. I see the shipyard, amazon shipping facility, and the new racetrack (if its ever built) being the key drivers to the growth. Something that has also caught my interest is the newish fast ferry that began service in Southworth. In your opinion, is it a good idea to allow public transportation access to influence where you choose to buy to rent? In my head I see buying near Southworth as a good idea because it allows for quick access to downtown Seattle BUT its about 20 minutes away from any major highway or shopping center... Thanks for your time!
0 Reply
Sergey A. Petrov
Real Estate Consultant · Seattle, WA · Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 784 votes
4y
Quote from @Zack Parkins:

Quote from @Sergey A. Petrov:

Connecting with a local property manager will be your best bet in assessing the rental market demand. If you want to do it yourself, you can do a quick search on zillow, apartments.com, craigslist, etc and see how many similar properties are available now vs say September 1. If 20 are available now and only 1 as of Sept 1 you know they are sitting vacant waiting for a tenant. If only 1 is available now and there are 20 in September then 20 in October, etc you know they get re-leased quickly because there is only one vacancy now and none until Sept 1.

Hey Sergey,
Great idea! It sounds like you've done this yourself. Would you say it's accurate to assume that leases that are year to year likely start/end in summer? When attending college that's always when my leases would start/end but I just assumed that was the norm in a college town. Thanks for you time!

@Zack Parkins - that should definitely be a factor in your review of the rental market!

1 Reply
Michael HaasBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Redmond, 🌧️ Seattle Investor-Agent | 🤑 Helped 400+ Clients Invest in Real Estate | 🏘️ Owns 23 WA Rentals & Airbnbs | 🏗️ Built 5 DADU's | 📈 You Can Do It Too · Member since 2016 · 724 posts · 3k+ votes
4y
You should be able to find average price-to-rent ratios for most of these neighborhoods with some paid tools + local know-how. In addition to our personal experience with our portfolio, we're using Rentometer, Mashvisor, and Neighboorhood Scout as our main paid data sources. Happy to shoot you those reports on any area you're interested in, just shoot me a message. Cheers!
[email protected]408-439-7873
HouseHack Seattle | Michael Haas & Team572 Reviews
Website View Page
7 Reply
Emily Hazard
Member since 2022 · 28 posts · 15 votes
4y
@Zack Parkins I would be happy to help you work on lease. We (my husband and I) have been underwriting deals for years now. Another great idea would be to find a place close to a hospital and work with traveling nurses. They don't need the place for anything but to sleep and their company pays for the rental.
1 Reply
Zack Parkins
OP
Member since 2022 · 7 posts · 0 votes
4y
Quote from @Emily Hazard:

@Zack Parkins I would be happy to help you work on lease. We (my husband and I) have been underwriting deals for years now. Another great idea would be to find a place close to a hospital and work with traveling nurses. They don't need the place for anything but to sleep and their company pays for the rental.
I’ve actually tried looking into this before! There’s a big medical facility in Silverdale Washington. Do you know if there’s a network where nurses are matched with living accommodations?
0 Reply
Armen Agadzhanov
Member since 2022 · 6 posts · 1 vote
4y
Hi Zack,
I work with a lot of investors in King, Snohomish, Pierce, Kitsap, Thurston and Island County. My recommendation would either be Kitsap or Island County if you are working with a specific budget that you do not want to exceed. If you have a specific neighborhood or zip code, I can shoot you a rental analysis for that area so you can get a better idea of the rental income you can expect each month. Let me know how I can help.
0 Reply
Emily Hazard
Member since 2022 · 28 posts · 15 votes
4y
They are called Furnished Finder. Some folks also market their listing on the meeting board in the hospital or reach out to the local HR rep for the hospital.
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