All Forum Posts by: Andrew Hodgson

@Tyler Kinkade @Steve Abercrombie

Hi guys, have you looked into Vestus? Vestus constantly tracks properties that are headed towards auction and evaluates the investment potential. They do lots of legwork for you, and they also hold weekly meetings at their Tacoma office to inform their subscribers about the properties up for auction the next morning. Vestus works in multiple South Sound counties, including Thurston, not sure about Lewis. Vestus also offers hard money loans for auction purchases.

Tyler, if you would rather do it yourself you can always show up to the courthouse steps to bid, it's public. In Thurston county its Friday mornings at 7:00, in front of the buildings outside in the elements (fun). If you bid and win, you have to have the money ready. So maybe go to your first auction just to check out the process and ask questions of the person running it as to the bidding and payment details. Hope that helps!

Welcome Derrick, and thank you for sharing your story. Many of us were smiling as we read it, I'm sure, as it rings so true and reminds us all of why we are doing this real estate thing. Hit me up, I would love to get a cup of coffee with you and talk real estate goals. I can be in Rochester in just a few minutes from where I live.

Hi @Adam L. and @Juan Alvarez. FHA does have a rehab loan called the 203k where the rehab costs and the purchase price are built into the loan. But I would recommend looking into the Fannie Mae HomeStyle rehab loan which can be less hassle in its implementation vs the FHA 203k. Keep in mind, both of these loan products are for borrowers who are owner-occupants, which means investors can use these loans for house hacking-- not for short-term flipping. Also for these loans, a licensed contractor must be used to estimate the rehab cost and do the work. Hope that helps!

Welcome @Skyler Chaney to the BiggerPockets Olympia area family! I am very happy to hear your decision to take action, it will be the defining moment of your journey. I am here to help you in any way I can, feel free to make use of me. 

Please join your fellow BPers on Tuesday Sept 18th at 6pm at Ramblin' Jacks downtown Olympia for our monthly local investors group meetup! I look forward to meeting you there.

@Collin Savunen Welcome to BP and to our local real estate investor community! Definitely looking forward to meeting you on the 18th at Ramblin Jack's. If there's anything I can do to help you reach your real estate goals, please let me know, also would love to get a cup of coffee with you sometime.

Hi @Derek Dodd, I'd love to go to a Centralia/Chehalis meetup to learn more about the Lewis county market. If you make one, throw me an invite. Just don't have it the same night as the Oly meetup so we can all go to both groups :)

Hi @Mo Sylla, and yes welcome to where these two worlds collide. I just went through my own challenges a week ago. I recently got my real estate broker's license and started working at a brokerage. But I am still active with my real estate investing, and I tried to put an offer in on a property as an investor, and crap hit the fan. All I can say is: always disclose your status as a licensed real estate broker. Now keep in mind I am not an attorney, so this is not legal advice... but in my situation I sought out counsel from two legal firms, and the advice I got all came back to disclosure. Anyone can buy and sell real estate for themselves, without being or even using brokers/agents. But, if you happen to be a broker/agent, then you need to disclose that fact to all parties involved. Make sure there is no ambiguity about it. Disclose, disclose, disclose. Hope that helps, feel free to PM me.

Hey Wendy, good to see you succeeding! I just wanted to recommend Timberland Bank as you seek out financing for this next deal. Being a local bank and a portfolio lender, they can be more creative with financing projects. They have a good reputation for being investor-friendly. Keep up the great work!

yep, at Ramblin' Jacks downtown Oly at 6pm. @Naomi Pinger is the one who posts the info for the group, so be sure to connect with her, too.

I'm in :) Thanks Naomi!