Rental Property Investor · Saint George, UT · Member since 2017 · 54 posts · 40 votes
I live in Utah but I am starting to look at opportunities in some other states and I have began my research in Washington. Just curious what the vibe is like out there? I'm sure each county has their own RE market so I am curious how well the markets are in Clark and multnomah counties are? I would assume anywhere around Tacoma up to Everett there is a pretty strong market? I like Spokane due to the lower population and therefore possibly less competition on buying homes? However I want to make sure whatever area I buy in has a really strong market for resale. Also looking for potential RE agents and partners to work with. Any ideas?
Lender · Spokane, WA · Member since 2015 · 1 post · 1 vote
9y
Hey Chris,
Happy to hear you're branching out your business. I'm a lender here in Spokane and would be happy to discuss our more investor friendly products. I work with quite a few different local real estate agents here as well and would be more than happy to help out. Let me know what exactly you're looking for and I'll see where I can help out.
Lender · Spokane, WA · Member since 2015 · 1 post · 1 vote
9y
Hey Chris,
Happy to hear you're branching out your business. I'm a lender here in Spokane and would be happy to discuss our more investor friendly products. I work with quite a few different local real estate agents here as well and would be more than happy to help out. Let me know what exactly you're looking for and I'll see where I can help out.
I talked to a local agent that sold a lot of HUD houses to investors and this years she is seeing that there is not many houses she can offer to investors because retail buyers are buying them up. If you want to be successful at flipping then I would recommend doing your own marketing/deal finding or finding a good wholesaler. I wholesale in the E Washington + N Idaho area, I can also connect you with the other bigger wholesaler in our area. Feel free to reach out.
Real Estate Agent · Spokane, WA · Member since 2015 · 37 posts · 16 votes
9y
Hey Chris
Spokane is a nice place to work with alot of good and bad areas to flip in. Like said above the inventory that investors use here is now getting touched by everyone it seems. I second the do your own marketing and deal finding. I have gone to that along with auctions and foreclosures. I am more than happy to some foreclosures i have gotten. Also if you need a person to do a walk through etc i have a done a few flips and have a contracting background i would be more than happy to go look and poke around some properties if you are interested.
Investor · Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 885 votes
9y
@Chris Potter They recently moved multnomah county to Oregon ;-) Western Washington is fast, fast, fast and wet, wet, wet.That means you need to be quick and well funded and put up with lots of nonsense from City and County regs and sometimes the contractors actually show up. Eastern Washington has drier weather and is much more laid back and the people tend to be honest and hard working and enjoy the process. You can make money both places and I have done projects in both places. I prefer Tri-Cities and Spokane.
Rental Property Investor · Saint George, UT · Member since 2017 · 54 posts · 40 votes
9y
@Brandon Pitzer, that's great, I would definitely need some lending options in addition to my own capital once I locate some properties. I will definitely touch base with you if/when I get up there.
I totally get it. I'm sure most parts of the country are in the same boat right now where investors are hungrier than ever since there are few deals so many are fighting over a bone. Also, just like we saw in 2007, many wanna-be's and regular people want to be investors and/or flip homes so they pay way too much and limit the opportunities for everyone. On top of that you get the end users that are going to live in the home and there's no way an investor can compete with that. I have been looking into doing some of my own marketing like you mentioned. It seems like there's a much better chance to snag a deal without a ton of investors competing.
Rental Property Investor · Saint George, UT · Member since 2017 · 54 posts · 40 votes
9y
@Brody Jett, that would be great to keep in touch and see if anything comes up. I primarily buy from the courthouse but occasionally I will buy from a pocket deal or from MLS. I have 2 flips going right now and just made an offer on a pocket listing that hopefully I can pick up. There are pros and cons to different areas/states especially at the auctions. The nice thing about Utah is the 24+ hrs to wire funds after the sale instead of having to show up with 100% cash (I believe that's the way it is in Washington). I like the idea of Spokane because there is less population so less investors fighting over a bone, less traffic, and geographically smaller so easier to drive around and look at potential homes. This is similar to where I live. Also, where I live the median price of homes is in the mid-$200ks and from what I have seen in many parts of Washington it appears to be very similar unlike other states such as CA. I'm sure that's not the case in the Seattle area but possibly other areas. It seems to me that washington has had more foreclosures lately and many that sell at the courthouse. This is either because there is more opportunity there or because people are paying retail so anything that is up to retail sells. I would love to hear about some of the deals you have done lately. I need to really dissect the numbers to know for sure.
Rental Property Investor · Walla Walla, WA · Member since 2016 · 480 posts · 346 votes
9y
@Chris Potter, Washington State is a GR8 place but not all areas are really conducive to REI. I would tend to agree with our colleagues above assessment of the areas you all have discussed thus far. I definitely agree with @Account Closed that Eastern Washington is much more laid back than the Western (Seattle area) side of the state. Spokane is a good market but there are a lot of investors there as well. Tri-Cities market is a GR8 market as the Hanford Site supports a good deal of that community but there is a lot of competition in that town as it relates to investors as well. Those are some of the reasons that I have chosen to invest in Walla Walla Washington, it is a very quaint town (approx. 45,000 population) and I have tried to find investors here (there are some but not as many as the above mentioned) to network with as I am in the process of trying to start a BP meet up/REIA here.
The metrics are fairly decent here to support investing in this community. However, ALL of the communities we have discussed are like much of the rest of the nation, inventory is LOW. But if you are persistent and savvy (marketing for off market deals) you can still make a good deal of $ regardless of what market you are in.
Well, I certainly hope you find what you are looking for and let me know if ever you need a hand in my farming area as I love to connect and network with other motivated, active REI's! Thanks for allowing me to share. Here is to wishing you success in your 2017 ventures!
Rental Property Investor · Saint George, UT · Member since 2017 · 54 posts · 40 votes
9y
@Tony Wooldridge, I went to Walla Walla about 10 years ago to visit my wife's grandparents. Her grandpa is Bill Reitz and her uncle is Doug Reitz he is a dentist in town. Very nice, quaint town. Seems like a place to live but also seems like it would be challenging to invest in. Have you been able to flip a few deals this year? How have you found your deals to purchase lately? Good luck
Ann Arbor, MI · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 997 votes
9y
@Chris Potter well if you ever have any interest in Bellingham, WA please consider dropping me a line. I've heard a lot of good and bad about Spokane but don't know jack spit about that place :)
Investor · Wichita, KS · Member since 2016 · 133 posts · 63 votes
9y
Hi Chris. I work in the Tacoma area of real estate. Though not part of Seattle we're experiencing some of the strongest population growth of the country in Pierce County. Most of the successful flippers I know are buying their properties off market as we have a lot of competition on the buy side and a lot of wannabes. I have a friend that does the courthouse steps option and they run into issues of investor companies from other countries buying things up right now. If you would like to talk about the specific parts of Pierce/King counties that I and my team cover, send me a message!
Rental Property Investor · Walla Walla, WA · Member since 2016 · 480 posts · 346 votes
9y
@Chris Potter, small world, your wife's uncle is our family dentist, GR8 guy! Yes, WW is a smaller town but like any town it has its challenges as it relates REI just like any other place but its how you turn those challenges into opportunities, that is what I look forward to doing in my REI business here in WW. I am currently in the process of flipping my 1st project here in WW. Unfortunately, starting out I don't quite have all the systems in place to run multiple deals at one time but that is forth coming. Currently, I have not been able to locate a Wholesaler in my area so it is incumbent upon me to find them myself. I have run a mailing marketing campaign in the past and intend to continue on with the process (as stated above running a 1 man show for now makes it rather difficult to run my flip as well as market at the same time, excuses, I know as there are ways but I am getting there!) Sounds like you have quite the business in Utah! I am assuming you have systems in place as the ones mentioned above how do you handle your situation? Hope this finds you well.
Rental Property Investor · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2016 · 653 posts · 769 votes
9y
I've been getting to know the Tacoma market lately and there are a lot of good economic factors going for it if you're looking for a buy and hold. Sure, there are plenty of newbies (myself included) trying to crack into the market here, but you've got tons of new infrastructure going in around Tacoma and Seattle is pushing people down here in droves. Send me a message if you want some agent contacts.
Flipper · Seattle, WA · Member since 2017 · 4 posts · 4 votes
9y
@Ryan Evans Same here. I have just begun looking into Tacoma. The short of housing supply really do drive people down South. Snohomish is also rising although the economy is not as diversified, cheaper to buy though
Real Estate Broker · Tacoma, WA · Member since 2015 · 21 posts · 6 votes
9y
Hi Chris Potter - I am very familiar with the Tacoma real estate market (North Tacoma in particular) if you would like some insight in this area. Also, I've worked as a project manager on 2 flips in N Tacoma and am in the process of getting my real estate license back after being silly and letting it lapse 😬. I'd be interested in chatting with you to see what kind of partnership you're interested in and your future goals.
Vendor · Vancouver, WA · Member since 2017 · 65 posts · 31 votes
9y
Hi @chris
@Chris Potter. You mentioned the Clark County area. I've lived here for 20 years and am involved with property development, building, and investing here in Vancouver and to some extent, the Portland Metro area.
I'd like to chat with you to see what you have in mind.
Rental Property Investor · Saint George, UT · Member since 2017 · 54 posts · 40 votes
9y
@Derek Smart, it's in between my deals that I start to consider looking out of state and Washington has a lot of attractive things about it. Utah is just so hot right now that it makes it a little more difficult to get a deal. I feel like RE is a very trendy thing in Utah, however, I would love to continue to pursue deals in Utah. I have 3 deals going right now but I close on a couple of them in the next couple of weeks so I'm always on the prowl. Do you ever come across deals that you lack funding on or on which you would like a partner with 13+ years experience? I think I will send out a flair on the forum for wholesalers/agents/flippers in Utah looking for funds/jv/partner of some sort.