New To Seattle Investor! (AirBNB / House Hacker)

[Eric Yu]

Hi all! I just moved to Seattle about 2 months back. I've had a chance to meet folks in WAREI + 10x, but I haven't spent much time on BiggerPockets yet. Just wanted to introduce myself here as well :)

QUICK TLDR; 

- In 2020, started my real estate journey with Airbnb house hacking. Able to net $3k a month for the entire year while paying $0 in rent. 
- Currently have 3 properties (5 units). Mix of Airbnb & Mid Term Rentals. 
- Used to work as an Android Eng. at Instagram. Quit in July 2021 after hitting ~$10k cash flow a month to focus all in on real estate!

WHERE I CAN PROVIDE HELP:

- Have done extensive research on STR markets across the US & can help with due diligence / putting together pro-formas.
- Happy to chat about house hacking, cost segs, bonus depreciation, minimizing tax bills (Note: I am not a financial advisor or tax professional haha)

WHERE I'M LOOKING FOR HELP:

- Really trying to buy an SFH where I can live in & build a DADU out back. Offered twice so far in Ballard and lost on both :( If you have any off market deals, please add me to your buyer's list!

THE LONG STORY
Hiya! My name’s Eric 👋 I’m a Michigan native & after spending 4 years working as an Instagram Software Engineer down in San Francisco, I moved up to Seattle to start a new adventure with my girlfriend, Wanda.

Back in 2020, Wanda and I went on a life planning retreat to discuss our high level goals for the future + how to start executing on them. Our biggest takeaways were 1) Family is #1 & 2) Flexibility of choice is critical (e.g. working a job is a want rather than a need). Working backwards from our dream life expenses, we came up with the goal of hitting $30k of passive income by 2030.

Since then, I've purchased 2 properties & Wanda has purchased 1. Our first property was an Airbnb house hack (living out of a small ADU in the backyard while Airbnb'ing out the main house). Based on an initial cash flow analysis, we were expecting ~$500/month. However, our results wildly surpassed expectations; in the first year, our property averaged $3,000 of net profit per month (consistently above 95th percentile in the market). All of this on top of the fact that we were paying $0 in rent.

In mid-2021, I left Instagram after reaching $10k of passive income per month. I’m now heavily focused in 2 areas: 1) Helping other people recognize their own path toward financial independence through real estate & 2) Learning about real estate development and tackling a build project sometime in 2022 or 2023.

Looking forward to getting to know more of you!

[Julio Gonzalez]

 Glad to have you as a part of this awesome community, Eric! 

[Michael Haas]

@Eric Yu welcome to BP man! Congrats on your success so far, and the big goals and dreams you have for the future. 

Happy to talk to you about the DADU play in Seattle- we're building 2 right now, one condoization-to-sell projection and one buy & hold. DADU's and ADU's are 50% of our investment strategy & Glamping, Airbnb, Tiny Houses, Yurts, and Unique Stays are the remaining 50%.

We push off market deals in both of those niches - I'll get you on our DADU list. Shooting you a DM now :)

[Dave Skow]

@Eric Yu- welcome to BP

[Armen Agadzhanov]

Eric, I work with a lot of investors in the greater Seattle area. Let me know if there's anything I can help with. Do you currently have any investment properties in Washington?

[Robin Simon]

Good stuff - big fan of the Washington market, but also especially Spokane/CDA not just Seattle.  Any inclination to expand your portfolio a bit eastward?

[Julien Jeannot]

Welcome to BP.

WAREI and 10x are great groups and full of helpful folks.

@Eric Yu, curious in your STR research. Any cities in WA that peaked your interest?

[Jess Haas]

Welcome to Seattle!

[Elmer Bonilla]

@Eric Yu awesome story so far. Glad to see you on BP. Seattle is beautiful and a great market. I’ve been doing some basic research in Snohomish county and closer to Bellingham. Trying to find the sweet spot between home values and daily rates/monthly revenue/demand/occupancy etc.

I’m still searching, looking for a second home to Abnb most of the year and travel to in the fall.

We spoke on messenger a few weeks ago btw

[Abigail Alt]

Welcome. I think you will do well here!!

:)