All Forum Posts by: Dan Mann

Thanks for the input.  @Jeff B. that sounds like an interesting story.

Is there any consistency to what determines a bedroom? I looked at property that was listed as two bedrooms. One of the bedrooms had the back door enter into it and a doorway that accessed the basement. I’m not sure of the dimensions of the room. Since there were two doors into the room it meet the needs to egress, but there wasn’t a closet. I’m not sure if that is needed, but you may want the information.

When I checked the county records it showed the property as 1 bedroom.

What would you consider the above property?

I'm running numbers through a spreadsheet to try to establish cash flow.

Is there a preferred method of establishing a cost for supplies, CapEx and repair expenses?
Do you use a fixed amount or percentage of rental income or just an estimate?

I realize the condition of the property has a bearing, but where I run into problems on a percentage base is lower rents. Somewhere here I've picked up a random figure I don't want to go below for CapEx, but figuring 10% of rent sometimes places this figure below this random figure. For example I'd like a minimum of $100 going into CapEx, but if rent is $800 then I'm at $80 for SFR.

As I write this it seems silly in that I'm concerned about $20, if it is that tight of an estimate I think I'd be in trouble. But, if I have several categories where I'm off it can start to influence the decision to purchase or not.

I’m taking the advice here on BP to run a couple properties each day to see if they cash flow to get a better understanding of my market.

Am I being overly analytical? 

 When they are refering to studs they are referring to the material the sheetrock is mounted to.  Saying a stud is 50lbs implies something else, studs are 2x4 or 2x6 and run from the floor to the ceiling and are usually 16 to 24 inch on center.  

There are "stud finders" which will detect where the stud is behind the sheet rock.  If you poke a hole in the sheet rock you missed the stud, if you poke a hole and hit wood then that is the stud.

Hope this helps.

@David Walker welcome. I've lived in Tri-Cities and now live in Spokane. Depending on Hanford is doing as it seems to control the housing market in your area.  Tri-Cities has better housing appreciation than Spokane, when housing prices were dropping in Spokane it was appreciating in Tri-Cities (Pasco).  This may have changed in recently as I haven't checked lately.

@Tripp Jarden while Spokane properties are cheaper than King County be sure to get to know the areas.  There are some low prices, but they are in areas I'm not prepared to invest in.  

I'm just starting so take this for what it is worth. I've been doing my comparison's of price vs rent and many of the properties don't make sense from point.  Also, I've talked to local investors who say the appreciation in Spokane isn't very good so it has to make sense from a cash flow point of view.

Someone with experience in the Spokane market may come along and contradict what I've said and I would welcome that point of view and will learn from them.

Welcome to  BP. You will find this site very helpful.  

I have to friends who are commercial pilots and they both put themselves through training to get there so I know it can be done.

So now there are two things you know can be done commercial pilot and real estate investing.

Best of luck in the future.

I’m primarily looking to be a buy and hold investor. As I gain experience I my venture to other areas, but I don’t expect to abandon my buy and hold objectives.

I’ve been interested in real estate for many years and have read about real estate investing for many years. BiggerPockets has been a great website for the information it provides.

While I’ve never purchased investment real estate I’ve bought and sold several primary residences over the years.

I’m still narrowing down what I want to be my “niche”. Primarily now I’m interested in single family residences and multi-families below four units.

While I’m not certain what exactly I want, I know at this time I’m not interested in having to do a major rehab. Ideally, I’d like to buy where I have some equity at the start and then hold it. I’ve identified area of town I don’t want to own.

If you are a wholesaler with deals in Spokane County feel free to contact me. I may go outside of Spokane County later, but for a beginning I feel more comfortable staying local.

I’m also interested in networking with other local investors and will be seeking meetups in the area. I saw I missed one the other night.

Looking forward from learning and meeting people from this site.  I've met one member from this site already and enjoyed the meeting and hope we can work together in the future.

P.S. I'm working on getting an acceptable photo for my profile. 

@Tracey Thornton use the search function here on BiggerPockets.  Search for "lease agreements"  Once you do that you will see a tab labeled "files" click that and you will have several samples to choose from to review.

@Nicholas Shepherd if you are in the city limits search Tacoma permits.  They have useful information that will help you determine what zone you are in and the requirements for lot size.

How it will affect value of your home would depend on the neighborhood and the "normal" lot size for that neighborhood.  

Best of luck.