Future landlord from Pacific Northwest

[Bryan Heck]

Hello BP

My name is Bryan, I am from Olympia, Wa and am getting into the buy and hold side of real estate. We just sold our home of 8 years to take advantage of the buyers market in our area. From that sell, my wife and I have obtained a very nice chunk of money to add to our savings.

Our long term goal is to buy single family - 4plex style homes in the Thurston, Grays Harbor and Lewis counties of Washington State and keep them as rental properties. 

Currently I work for a cable service company so I have the unique opportunity to be paid while, as you call it, driving for dollars. My route changes daily so, I could be in different neighborhoods everyday. I am putting together a list of these houses that look empty or just uncared for and will be contacting the  owners to see if they’re interested in selling. 

Are there any other tips or good practices to better my chances of getting these types of homes under my belt? Does anyone have a sample letter of what you might write on these types of scenarios?

Thank you!

[Sherief Elbassuoni]

@Bryan Heck, that is great. 

To try to  find good deals, try to find a house that have one or more of these items:

* No window treatment

* Gutters are broken/Falling off

* Newspapers/mails on the door

* Old/crappy paint that is peeling off

* Roof with a lot of moss

* Debris on front porch

I would also recommend you to do some due diligence before you contact the potential seller (not only after you contact the owner?.

* Try to find the owner's name 

* Try to find what year the house was built

* When it was sold last time and what was the price it was solf for

* What is the current Tax value (Having a CMA from your agent is even better)

* Is it foreclosure or not

Knowing some/all of these information will help you filter down the different houses you are looking at.

Some of this stuff are public records, and some others, you need to dig a little deeper.

Let me know if you have any questions or if you need help.

Best of luck.

Thanks!