Newbie from Vancouver WA ( Portland Metro area )

Newbie from Vancouver WA ( Portland Metro area )

Involved In Real Estate · Vancouver , WA · Member since 2014 · 13 posts · 4 votes

Hi all! As an agent here in Vancouver WA, I've learned to appreciate the value in investing in real estate. My husband and I married very young (19) and had our oldest daughter the following year. Since then, we've strived to maintain a strong family bond, while juggling work and higher education. Our schedule has always been at the mercy of our academics and jobs. Fortunately, my husband and I have always worked opposite schedules, and so it worked out great because we've never had to pay for daycare for our two girls. Now my husband is ready to focus more on his last two years of school and quit his repetative, dead-end job in hopes of attaining his career in Business Admin. We are ready for some more control and security for our future, without sacrificing our time with eachother like we have been. The market in Vancouver is great, and has plenty more to offer, which I'd like to tap into and get started with opportunities to learn about rental/investment properties.

I've been playing bp podcasts everyday!  My oldest daughter has even learned to ask permission while I'm listening to my show to get a quick yes for the sake of not being interrupted haha! 

I'm excited anand greatful for discovering bp :)

Cristal 

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Hanford, CA · Member since 2013 · 5k+ posts · 1k+ votes
11y

Welcome to Biggerpockets!

You found the place to be! You will find no better place to build a solid platform than bigger pockets. The one thing we all agree up on is that we invest in real estate. Beyond that everyone has a different niche!

We got married young at 22 and 23 :)  We have learned to invest without alot of resources. I didn't find bigger pockets till I was much further along in our investment. We learned to invest with litle down as personal property and rent them out when we were transferred. So there are lots of ways. Our goal is early retirement in 15 years.

 We are buy and hold investors who invest in class A properties self-managing from a distance while working full time. So we do work on furthering our careers. We live very frugally allowing us to live off of one income and save the other. We have further our career and used the W2 income to leverage our real estate portfolio.

I highly recommend you also check out- the blogs, forums and listen to the podcasts. If you see a post you enjoy check out the persons signature. As many of us have created resources around our niche (websites, blogs, etc) so checking out the signature is a great to get more information. Make sure you don't miss out on networking is by filling out your signature, profile and pming people with questions.

Look forward to seeing you around! Let me know if I can help! Good luck!!!

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  • Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2010 · 804 posts · 230 votes
    11y

    Welcome to the site  There is much to learn.

  • Hanford, CA · Member since 2013 · 5k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    11y

    Welcome to Biggerpockets!

    You found the place to be! You will find no better place to build a solid platform than bigger pockets. The one thing we all agree up on is that we invest in real estate. Beyond that everyone has a different niche!

    We got married young at 22 and 23 :)  We have learned to invest without alot of resources. I didn't find bigger pockets till I was much further along in our investment. We learned to invest with litle down as personal property and rent them out when we were transferred. So there are lots of ways. Our goal is early retirement in 15 years.

     We are buy and hold investors who invest in class A properties self-managing from a distance while working full time. So we do work on furthering our careers. We live very frugally allowing us to live off of one income and save the other. We have further our career and used the W2 income to leverage our real estate portfolio.

    I highly recommend you also check out- the blogs, forums and listen to the podcasts. If you see a post you enjoy check out the persons signature. As many of us have created resources around our niche (websites, blogs, etc) so checking out the signature is a great to get more information. Make sure you don't miss out on networking is by filling out your signature, profile and pming people with questions.

    Look forward to seeing you around! Let me know if I can help! Good luck!!!

  • Investor · Vancouver, WA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    11y

    @Cristal Sanchez Welcome to Bigger Pockets! Glad you are exploring the site, reading forums & blogs and listening to podcasts. I am a very active landlord in Vancouver and have a passion for this business. When you get to the phase of owning residential rental property, I would be glad to provide you with some guidance on how to select and work with tenants, as well as other aspects of owning and managing residential rental properties.  All the best to you and your family!

  • Specialist · Rockland, MA · Member since 2010 · 7k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    11y

    @Cristal Sanchez 

    Welcome. Time to build the foundation below.

    Check out the Start Here page http://www.biggerpockets.com/starthere

    Check out BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide - A fantastic free book that walks through many of the key topics of real estate investing.

    Two Great reads, I bought both J. Scott The Book on Flipping Houses,The Book on Estimating ReHab Costshttp://www.biggerpockets.com/flippingbook

    Locate and attend 3 different local REIA club meetings great place to meet people gather resources and info. Here you will meet wholesalers who provide deals and all the cash buyers (rehabbers) you will need.

    Good read The Real Estate Agent's Ultimate Guide to Working with Investors

    http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/08/24/real-estate-agents-working-with-investors/

    You might consider Niche or Specialized Housing like student housing. Rents can be 2-4 times more. Remember you don't have to own a property to control it.

    Download BP’s newest book here some good due diligence in Chapter 10. Real Estate Rewind Starting over

    http://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/brandonatbp/file/real-estate-rewind-a-biggerpockets-community-book

    Good luck

    Paul

  • Involved In Real Estate · Vancouver , WA · Member since 2014 · 13 posts · 4 votes
    11y

    Thanks for the welcome everyone. I started reading the incredibly helpful beginners guide. Thank you @paultimmins I am going to definitely read the guide for real estate agents working with investors, what a great resource! I have considered student housing but wonder if I’d have to deal with a lot of vacancies from students coming and going? Right now we are living off of my husbands income alone, but once we purchase our first home we are going to be using a portion of mine as well. We plan on being conservative with our purchase and sticking to the necessities only. In the future we’d like to use our first home as a rental as we move on up to a home on acreage. @marciamaynard what areas of Vancouver have you found to be best for rental properties? I cant imagine how many students live near Clark college since everything is pretty close and easy to access here in Vancouver. I imagine most students stay living at home? Thank you for your kindness in offering to help!

    Again thanks everyone!

    Cristal

  • Solo 401k Expert · Anaheim Hills, CA · Member since 2012 · 18k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    11y

    Welcome to BP community @Cristal Sanchez  It is a great place to meet new friends and learn about various aspects of real estate and more. Here are a few recommendations for you:

    Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area: http://www.biggerpockets.com/meet

    Set up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alerts

    Wishing you the best! 

  • Investor · Vancouver, WA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    11y
    Originally posted by @Cristal Sanchez:

    @marciamaynard what areas of Vancouver have you found to be best for rental properties? I cant imagine how many students live near Clark college since everything is pretty close and easy to access here in Vancouver. I imagine most students stay living at home? Thank you for your kindness in offering to help!

    Again thanks everyone!

    Cristal

    If you are marketing to students, then the areas would be around Washington State University (Vancouver campus) in the Salmon Creek area, or Clark College in the Central Park area.  We invest on Vancouver's West Side and have had some students from time to time, but mostly we rent to responsible long term low income tenants in B/C properties... houses and small plexes.

    There are some folks on BP who specialize in student rentals and it would be good to learn what you can from them. Use the "search the site" feature on the right side of the blue bar at the top of the page to zero in on some previous BP forum discussions about renting to students. It can be a good niche market.

  • Rental Property Investor · Vancouver, WA · Member since 2014 · 308 posts · 144 votes
    11y

    Welcome from another person from Vancouver! :)

  • Michele FischerPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Seattle, WA · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    11y

    Cristal, welcome to BiggerPockets!  I'm about an hour north of you.  Your agent background should be a great asset to your investing.  Marcia Maynard is a wonderful local resource, enjoy!

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