All Forum Posts by: Alex Chin

@Brad B. - I believe that it is. You'll have a chance to interact with local investors in an informal setting, most of whom are more than willing to discuss their projects and what they're doing, and why. That kind of information is valuable to someone starting out and can help guide an investment path.

At worst, you've bought yourself a drink and a meal with good folks, at best, you might find a mentor or partner to start taking action with.

Hey @Account Closed. I would echo what the others have said. Please give us a little bit more insight on what type of property or investment you envision for the $50K. Were you willing to break it up and do 2 deals if you could? Are you comfortable and familiar with running deal analysis or are you looking for help understanding that process?

As for where to look, I would recommend linking up with a real estate agent or broker and getting their help on running specific searches. They would also be able to tell you how realistic your chances of finding certain property metrics will be in a given area. If you are looking for a recommendation, feel free to PM me, or contact any of the others who have already chimed in.

Given some of the investing strategies and his line of work, I would see about contacting @Brian Fouts offline, solid guy to talk to and good at breaking down various strategies.

You should also look to attend one of the upcoming Meet-Ups, @Kevin C. and @Troy Fisher run them with their business partner Tiffany Plovie. Informal settings, no fee or sales pitch, great way to link up and talk real estate with locals!

@Kevin C., have you already interviewed some of the senior housing operators in the Puget Sound area? Like @Julie Marquez mentioned, you could try calling up SHAG HQ and asking them about that kind of investment, there is also Aegis Living, Merrill Gardens...all would probably be good opening moves to take a look at the mechanics of this type of investment.

I do know a few property managers/facility engineers at the aforementioned companies that I have interacted with professionally and could point you in their direction.

@Carmen McCafferty - well, we were all complete newbies at some point right? And even experienced investors, if they have any sense, will admit that they are constantly learning new methods, new ways of approaching a problem.

If you're looking for information to help guide you and are looking to make an investment of your time into your real estate education, I would start with reading the Ultimate Beginner's Guide (download it from the Education tab) for an overview of the investment sphere and a loose description of the various ways to participate. I also make it a personal habit to peruse the BiggerPockets Blog one or twice a week for interesting articles. Another thing that I like to do is carve out a couple hours every weekend to browsing craigslist, rents, apartment.com, padmapper and similar sites to keep myself abreast of what type of room with which amenities will rent for what in my area of interest. Doing so does helps me keep track both of what I should expect to receive in rents if I make a purchase, and also who my potential sellers are.

All of the above is what I generally consider a good beginner's time investment: it will probably mean 4-6 hours every week but will quickly help you learn your market and give you a guide for if you want to put more time into it.

I think I can finally start making it out to meet-ups again, we'll see how I'm feeling the night of, but looking forward to seeing everyone again!

Hello @Carmen McCafferty. Sounds like you have a mid-term game plan, what are your thoughts in the interim? Are you looking to build a rental portfolio? Lend money? Non-performing Notes? Turnkeys out of state?

Are there specific questions you would put out there that we can take a crack at?

Hey @Dale Forney. Good to have you on-boarding, it sounds like you have experience and have a game plan. Were there specific questions you were looking to get answered at this point? What do you see as your biggest need to grow your business in the next 5 years?

Hey @Adam Gangl. First and foremost, welcome to the community and here's to success!

Secondly: I have never bought at auction either, but from what I know, a mortgage will not come into play here as I believe you are required to have the entire amount in cash or cashier's check at closing. If you do not have the full amount on hand, you may be able to work with a hard-money lender who will front the initial purchase and then refi with a conventional loan after you take possession.

Third: I would be very careful and run the numbers again to make sure you are able to rent a property for that amount. To be honest, I am not sure it is possible to buy a house in the Seattle area for ~$150k-$175k (assuming 20% down, 4% interest, that will approximate $800/month), let alone one that will rent for $2,500/month (might be possible by Airbnb'ing all the beds). What neighborhood are you looking at? Have you made sure that your rent comps are a solid match? Will the property require substantial renovation to get it to rentable condition? Also, if you are able to win the property, be aware that there may be an existing tenant you will have to evict.

Good luck, and feel free to reach out to the community with your questions!

Chiming in, I would also recommend regularly perusing the member blogs on the subjects that interest you the most.

If you are looking for actionable steps, I would recommend the following: 

1. Narrow down your interest area: it is a bit of a waste of time to try to become an expert in flipping, wholesaling, landlording, and financing all at the same time. Pick one or two and focus on them.

2. Narrow down your geographic area: again, when you are starting out, it is going to be extremely difficult to learn a vast stretch of the city. Start out by isolating the area that you want to invest in, and spend time learning what sells for what. Be able to quickly determine what a 3bd./2ba. with garage and 2000 sqft. will command as opposed to the same house without a garage. What do certain amenities result in for pricing? Which streets demand premium pricing?

3. Connect with @Kevin C. and @Troy Fisher. They run the Eastside, Seattle, and Tacoma meet-ups with their partner-in-crime Tiffany Plovie. Great, informal venue to meet local investors and have casual conversations about what folks are doing.

Cheers and good luck!

I won't comment much on the question of pursuing an accounting degree. I believe that if you are interested in Real Estate for the long-haul, then an understanding of accounting concepts and basics is vital to maintaining a profitable business.

I will lay out a quick set of pros and cons if you are looking to live in Washington State.

Cons:

Western WA is expensive. The Seattle area in particular has seen skyrocketing house prices with rentals being damn near impossible to cash-flow.

Grey skies and rain. This is a personal preference thing. I love the rain, but a lot of folks will get down on the months and months without sight of the sun.

Passive aggressiveness. Seriously, it is a thing in the PNW

Pros:

You say you like the outdoors? the state of Washington is f***ing beautiful for hikes, camping, fishing, biking, climbing.

High wages for professionals. Lotta folks seeing very good money to move to the region. Thus many are able to afford stiffer rental rates or housing prices, even in the outlying regions.

Education. Seattle-Tacoma region is a solid hub for institutions of higher learning, and for hospitals and medical research. I.e.- it sucks to get cancer, but if you do Seattle is probably one of the least crappy cities it could happen to you in.

Cheers and good luck Jason!