Mercer Island, WA · Member since 2014 · 16 posts · 3 votes
I am a newbie to this forum/website and to real estate investing. I have just discovered BP and to be honest am hooked. The information on here is exactly what I have been looking for.
I am a construction manager in the Seattle market, I have performed over 50 rehab/flips as the general contractor among many other projects. Last year we bought our first house/investment property. It has taken me a full year to complete the interior renovation, but after the appraisal that we just got back we have increased the value over 200K.
Looking to gain as much knowledge as possible before diving into the non-owner occupied world.
Welcome! I am just on the other side of the lake from you but invest up in Everett where the numbers are a bit more investor friendly. Lots of good stuff happening here.
CASH!!!!! We rebuilt the whole interior of the house from all the systems (plumbing, electrical, insulation, drywall ect) added a bedroom and bathroom. We also lived in the house through the entire process. We did not borrow a dime to complete the project, we knew how we wanted to approach this project and thus far it has worked out to plan.
If living in the property was part of the plan and a benefit to you, I fully understand. Just keep in mind that finding money for a good deal is not difficult and your costs of financing are heavily outweighed by the opportunity costs lost by not doing it faster and investing in more.
Nice to see another Washingtonian join the community. GC and construction experience are good skills to go along with real estate investing. So, are you mostly interested in fix and flip versus buy and hold? Either way, there's a wealth of information and experience here to learn from. Hope to see you around the forums.
Right now I am looking at the fix and flips because I know how to get in and out of those in a few weeks (depending on the extent). Long term I would like to get into more holds as we build more capital.
I travel from Marysville to Bremerton on a weekly basis. So at this time I am still doing research on where I may find my niche. I have a restoration background so the mold and fire damage are what I find most appealing. We have rehabbed over 40 house in the Puyallup and Spanaway area. I guess I am used to the construction model of go where the work is.. this is probably a question I need to get figured out.
CASH!!!!! We rebuilt the whole interior of the house from all the systems (plumbing, electrical, insulation, drywall ect) added a bedroom and bathroom. We also lived in the house through the entire process. We did not borrow a dime to complete the project, we knew how we wanted to approach this project and thus far it has worked out to plan.
Totally dig. Done that before! : ) I here what Will is saying. Easy to do now that I'm up and going and know what I know. But, I did as you on my first rehab (except, we kept the drywall). Was really fun, too!
We were able to get a house in Mercer Island for way under value. We originally wanted to get an owner occupied triplex, but this was too good to pass up.
Gerald,
Right now I am looking at the fix and flips because I know how to get in and out of those in a few weeks (depending on the extent). Long term I would like to get into more holds as we build more capital.
I could be off base with this what do you think?
I think that's a good strategy. Fix and flip and use the capital toward buy and holds. You could cherry pick the ones you want to keep as rentals. Another possibility would be to buy some land and get a construction loan for new construction. Additionally, you could also use your skills to assist in projects with others. Lots of possibilities. BP has a book on flipping houses you might find interesting: http://get.biggerpockets.com/flippingbook/
Welcome to BP. I am currently owner occupying a triplex which when I purchased had a non rent paying hoarder living in it who had completely destroyed the place. I lived there while remodeling and have just finished it all and purchased the house next door which I intend to move into while designing plans and getting permits to tear it down and build a four-plex. Also acquired the other triplex next-door. Only need the four-plex owned by someone uninterested in selling at this time and I will gain control of the street! All in good time. Anyways, we have a Snohomish County REI meetup you may be interested in attending sometime, your knowledge of rehab would be wonderful I'd love to speak with you about some questions sometime (these have been my first hands on rehab experience without hiring the help out). I live in Snohomish and work in Everett if you have time for a coffee on your way through sometime let's do it.
Good to have another new member from the Seattle area. I had considered doing what you did with the buy, occupy, fix, but I've got 2 small kids (under 5) so am moving at a slower pace in Shoreline. My wife loves the neighborhood, so we may cash out with a second mortgage instead of selling, and get into buy and holds with it as well.
@Shane Keck - welcome to BP and sounds like you have a lot of great experience. A lot! Congrats and looking forward to hearing more about your success.