Seattle, WA · Member since 2016 · 23 posts · 7 votes
This may not be the most effective way of going about this but here goes nothing.
I'm in the market for a small standalone home or town-home in the beacon hill or West Seattle neighborhoods, with at least 2 beds and 1.75 baths. Hoping to network with wholesalers, investors or anyone else with anyone else that might have some good deals in these areas.
To be frank, real estate market, especially residential real estate market, is more and more like stock market. Nearly all information is public. To seek good deals under table is like to seek insider information, though with no legal risk. However, nothing is free. Why investors want to share good deals with you when you are a stranger to them? Seattle market is very hot. Every house, condo, townhouse, as long as it's not priced ridiculously, is sold very fast. Investors can simply list them on MLS to get high price from the bidding.
Just my two cents. I wish you can establish good connections here, with cash in hand, and then probably you can get good deals from your friends.
To be frank, real estate market, especially residential real estate market, is more and more like stock market. Nearly all information is public. To seek good deals under table is like to seek insider information, though with no legal risk. However, nothing is free. Why investors want to share good deals with you when you are a stranger to them? Seattle market is very hot. Every house, condo, townhouse, as long as it's not priced ridiculously, is sold very fast. Investors can simply list them on MLS to get high price from the bidding.
Just my two cents. I wish you can establish good connections here, with cash in hand, and then probably you can get good deals from your friends.
I live in West Seattle and own a townhouse (purchased in 2013) and a SFR we just purchased and are currently living in. Our townhouse is in the Westwood Village area (south area of West Seattle) and our new home is a little bit further south in White Center. White Center is just outside the city limits of Seattle and considered unincorporated. There's rumor that Seattle is going to eat up White Center and annex it within the next year. White Center has come along way in the past 2 years and I would say as far as home prices go it's still somewhat affordable to purchase a home in. It may not be for everyone but we like it! Our townhouse is cashflowing just over $1,000/mth and our new home has a MIL which we plan to rent out soon which will make our out-of-pocket close to $0/mth for our mortgage. Hoping to find another house in the next year and continue the trend :)
I'd suggest driving all over the area you want to target and reach out directly to those homeowners. Who knows, you may just get someone who is interested in selling.
Thanks @Corey R. I was outbid on a town home near the west Seattle super supplements a few weeks ago and we are in the process of submitting an offer for one in the south Delridge area. Both have been MLS deals with offer review dates so as you would imagine, competition has been tough (esp with the low inventory in that area).
I've never quite grasped the whole concept of driving for dollars I often hear about. Like, how do the logistics actually work in the real world? Do i just go about knocking on doors, asking people if they are open to selling their house? Take for example, you as a homeowner in that area. How receptive would you be of such advances? and in a hot sellers market like Seattle where basically everyone that owns property knows they can make a killing if they list on the MLS, how common is it to really find those type of off-market deals?
@Lennox Matsinde network network network. Not just on BiggerPockets but in real life and meeting people face to face. We are blessed here in the Seattle area ... there is at least one, if not two investor meetings every week. I am more likely to share a deal with a familiar face than an unfamiliar one.
And my friend @Tarl Yarber is putting together a huge RE event on June 23 & 24 in Bellevue. Watch for info on this website tomorrow. You won't want to miss it.
Thanks @Ruth Bayang. I spoke with Tarl at the last fixated event when they brought in Brandon from Bigger Pockets. I'm hoping to make it to at least one of the days of their expo. I do go to a decent amount of the meetups around town, but I probably still need to work on my networking skills at these events. I'm somewhat new to the area so its been a work in progress.