Spokane, WA · Member since 2013 · 57 posts · 7 votes
Hello,
I'm new to the community and real estate investing. I currently rent out the last house I lived in and it's been good to me. I would love to do more.
I am interested in Rehabbing/flipping and spec building as a way to build capital to make buy and hold purchases.
Right now I'm in the research phase; reading lots of books and, of course, biggerpockets. I would love to connect with other investors in the Spokane/CDA market. In particular I would like to know:
Referrals. Anybody have good referrals for RE Attorneys, CPA's, Investor Friendly Agents in Spokane/CDA?
What's going on in the market? What's working, what's not.
Locate and attend 3 different local REIA club meetings great place to meet people gather resources and info. Here you will ask for referrals when you hear the same name over and over they are probably good. For Property Management go to IREM.org search for ARM certified. For Property Inspector go to ASHI.org search for certified ones.
Great advice on finding PM's and inspectors, will definitly try that. I have read J. Scott's book and thought it was really good. Currently reading the book on estimating rehab costs.
I currently don't live in the Spokane market. Any tips on building a team from a distance?
@Jason Munck interesting that you've chosen to invest remotely in Spokane. Lots of remote investors flooding the market right now. Feel free to PM with any questions.
@Jason Munck interesting that you've chosen to invest remotely in Spokane. Lots of remote investors flooding the market right now. Feel free to PM with any questions.
I would love to say that I have a keen investment mind and think Spokane is a great market but it just isn't true. My interest in Spokane is actually really pedestrian.
My wife is from Spokane and most of her family is there. We would love to move there to be close to them and raise our kids. Unfortunately, we aren't able to move there at this time. I would like to invest in real estate where we want to be rather than where are. I am hoping with family in the area I could do some deals before we are able to get out there.
Hey @Jason Munck! Thanks for introducing yourself! It's great to have you here! Don't miss The BiggerPockets Podcast - they are great for learning how others are finding success.
@Brandon Turner I've kind of done things a little backwards. I started off listening to the podcasts first and then read the J. Scott book (very helpful BTW). I'm just now getting to engaging the community (primarily because it was recommended on the podcasts).
The podcasts are so great b/c I can listen to them while I drive through traffic to the my desk job everyday. I can learn more about REI without taking any extra time out of my busy day.
Anyway, thanks for the welcome! You probably welcome lots of newbies but I was still surprised to see you on my intro forum. After listening to the podcasts (I'm on show 39 now, almost caught up), you are a BP celebrity to me.
Oh, I almost signed up for a twitter account just because of your "knock knock" request.
Hey @Jason Munck haha thanks! And I totally wish I had the podcasts back when I was getting started. I think I would have avoided most of the mistakes that I've made. But then again, mistakes are part of the game, it's learning from them that makes us who we will become. Wow, that was deep. I should tweet that. ;)
And I do try to comment on most of the new member intros, but I take special notice of those investing in my backyard (Well, if you consider all the way across the state part of my backyard!)
Anyways, thanks for jumping in. It's great to see the interaction growing here on the forums because of the Podcasts. It's very cool.
Definitely keep in touch and hit me up if you ever have any questions I can answer!
And if you ever do sign up for Twitter, don't forget to "Knock Knock" @Joshua D. :)
Alright, a personal ask from @Brandon Turner was too much for me to resist. I signed up for twitter and left a "Knock Knock" tweet for @Joshua D.. Sorry Josh!
I'm also a newbie getting into the CDA/Spokane market and thought I'd say hello since I haven't yet.
Similarly to Jason, I'm looking to do some wholesaling and rehabbing and would love to connect with some professionals in my area.
I feel like I'm at the stage where I know the process (as much as I can without having actually gone through it yet) and just need to go out there and try to get my first deal.
I just got a probate and foreclosure list from my local courthouse and title company so we'll see if I can get some leads from my first direct marketing campaign!
I'm really glad to know about this online community for real estate investors and have already learned a ton just from reading posts in the forum.
Nice to see there's some activity going on in the Eastern part of the state. Prices have started moving higher on the West part of the state for the last year or so which is making it harder to find buy and hold deals - maybe better for wholesaling, flips, and new construction. Spent some time in Eastern WA some time back but haven't been out here recently or since the housing boom and bust period. I imagine there may have been some new construction going on out there during the boom (bubble?). How's the market over there?
Well, as I said, I'm a newbie and I could be way off. But from my vantage point and amount of knowledge, the Spokane market seems wide open. I'm not seeing tons of bandit signs all over the place (although there are a few) and there seem to be a lot of distressed properties around based on a few conversations I've had with people here and from doing my own research.
I guess I'll find out more about the market after I've done more deals though! I'm in a passive investment right now with my partner who is rehabbing a single family house on Monroe St. and it's going well, albeit turning out to be more work and more costly than was anticipated. I guess that's why everyone says to be very conservative with your cost estimates for rehabs!
Anyway, thanks for replying to my message. It feels good to be plugged into the Bigger Pockets community a little.
Nice to see there's some activity going on in the Eastern part of the state. Prices have started moving higher on the West part of the state for the last year or so which is making it harder to find buy and hold deals - maybe better for wholesaling, flips, and new construction. Spent some time in Eastern WA some time back but haven't been out here recently or since the housing boom and bust period. I imagine there may have been some new construction going on out there during the boom (bubble?). How's the market over there?
I'm going to give the same disclaimer as Gregory, I'm new AND looking at Spokane from a distance. From what I hear the trends in Spokane are similar to other parts of the country just not as pronounced. The financial crisis hit there just like everywhere else but not as bad as other places and it's been improving lately but not as much as other places. The lows aren't as low and the highs aren't as high but a similar cycle nonetheless.
As far as investor activity, I don't have a great sense of that. The county had their tax foreclosure auction and I thought most of the properties sold for too much. Again, I'm new so maybe my analysis is bad or maybe the competition is getting stiff.
Anyway, Gregory it's great to meet you! Look forward to talking to you.
Hi @Jason Munck and @Gregory Vanderford - I am also a long distance investor interested in getting started in Spokane. I grew up in Spokane and have decided to start my investing career there for many of the same reasons mentioned in the comments of this post. It is one of those markets that seems to have minimal swings, which is extremely attractive to a buy/hold investor like myself. I especially love the low cost of entry.
Good luck! Looking forward to hearing about your progress.
Hi Jason , and welcome to BP! I’m a ‘fix and hold’ investor from the Bay Area in CA, and loving it! But you’ll find a variety of every type of investor on the site, and everyone is amazingly helpful. Some pointers for you: The "Learn" link across the top navigation bar has lots of great info, and so do BP members! You can click on the ‘vote’ button if you like someone's post or is helpful, and there are ‘awards’ to earn on your profile. And you can tag people by typing @ before you type their name, then clicking their name at the bottom of the message box. Welcome to the site, and good luck in everything!
Connect with everyone on BP from the area ask for referrals. Get the Best of the Best.
Locate the local REIA clubs to there. Call and speak with the club president get local info and referrals. Ask for wholesalers who can provide deals. Look up the club website check and call any vendors listed. Begin conversations again ask for referrals.