All Forum Posts by: Doug Sipes

I've used 360Training.com for both my initial licensing and also my required continuing education. It takes discipline and as @Abel Curiel noted, setting goals and holding yourself accountable definitely help. And then put in time taking practice exams and take them over and over and over until you feel you're continually doing well and you should be fine with the state test.

BTW, when I was taking the state exam (WA), I was pleasantly surprised to see on it one of the exact same test questions from 360Training. You don't get to find out your final test score, but I know I got that one right!

Anyway, good luck with your studies!

Hi Keyana,

Ditto to the necessity to be at least pre-approved if you're planning on buying from the retail market. Otherwise I'd add to hit up FSBO's, Make Me Move peeps, absentee-owners (title rep can help with that), smaller landlords that post rentals on Craigslist.... A great scenario would be an absentee-owner with no mortgage. There are a number of sources/avenues but it's going to take work. Phone calls, letters, door knocking, etc.

Good luck and I'm always happy to help if I can!

Nice job! That's a very nice gross earnings on this project! Curious, what were some of your larger expenses for this? I'm familiar with your work around town and you obviously know what you're doing, but $145k seems like heck of a good deal for that kind of return....

Thanks for sharing!

Hi Charles,

Welcome to BP!

As John Barrett pointed out, Everett has a lot going for it. High prices are pushing people out of Seattle. Tacoma/Pierce Co. - which was once considered the place to go for great deals - is now one of the nation's hottest markets as people from the Seattle area were looking to get more for their money by going south. With that, though, Tacoma isn't necessarily much of deal anymore.

There are great prospects up north, however. Marysville (just north of Everett) is experiencing a construction boom of new homes. Ever-expanding commercial flights out of Paine Field are a HUGE plus for the area. Not to mention, the City of Everett is redeveloping a lot of it's downtown core (google "Metro Everett").

A lot of people tend to overlook Everett, but personally I think it's a great place to invest right now to put yourself ahead of the curve. (btw, I know some property owners in downtown Everett that told me they've never had a problem renting at good market rates. (they're looking to sell off market, btw, for anyone out there interested. i'd jump on it myself, only i'm not really in a position to do so... not yet, anyway))

Hi Jassen,
I like the Nomad concept... for me personally, though, I would see it as a supplement to my flip strategies.
I noticed you haven't had any Meetup events since February... are you planning on scheduling any events in the near future?
Thanks!
Doug

Hi Christopher,

Thanks for the informative articles you've been posting to BP, they're quite helpful!

I see that you've commented that you're not looking for any development opportunities outside of TX. I have some excellent leads for an opportunity here in the PNW that is really too good to pass up... if I had the resources I'd be all over it yesterday! Unfortunately, though, I'm not in that kind of position. If you're at all interested, I'd be happy to provide further information. If you're not, though, perhaps you might pass this along to any fellow developers you know that invest in the PNW...?

Thanks and have a great day!

Doug

Hi Rachel,

I'm very familiar with that area. As some of the other posters noted, what are your specific questions? BTW, Ballard is an INCREDIBLY sought-after area. Retail sale of the right property (priced appropriately, of course) will bring you multiple offers over list price. Rental rates are down YOY in Seattle (too many new apartments coming on-line in the last two years), but again, it seems like almost everyone wants to live in Ballard!

What kind of project are you planning on doing?

Hi Mohit,

Welcome to the area (although you haven't moved yet).... licensed Realtor working in Seattle and surrounding areas here. Unfortunately, you won't find anything in Seattle at that price point... not anything you'd want to live in, that is, unless it's a condo.

And sure, Tacoma can be a good spot but if I were you, I'd go north. For the same amount of money, you can pretty much get twice the house in Tacoma as you can in Seattle. However, a lot of the "Seattle action" already went south to Tacoma, driving up prices down there. Up north, though, like in Everett and surrounding areas, you can get more of house there as you can in Tacoma. Everett's also dumping a lot of money into it's infrastructure. Their plan is a good 15-20 years out until expected full completion, but it should seriously help out the area (Google "Metro Everett" for more specifics about some of what they're doing). Not to mention nearby Paine Field that just started regular flights of some major airlines including Alaska and United. 

Anyway, just my two cents. Fell free to contact me if you're curious for more information. Otherwise, good luck on your search!