All Forum Posts by: Enrique Jevons

Hi Sean,

I'd be happy to meet up with you.  I live in Issaquah as well, and am growing my business.  I currently manage over 600 homes and apartments.  I've got some time on Monday if you're free then.

Enrique

Hello Steve,

While I don't have anything that you're looking for, I am interested in investing in the same areas.  I currently manage over 600 units in Yakima, and just moved to Sammamish last June.  I'd be happy to meet up in North Bend for lunch or coffee sometime.  I stop by at the Starbucks there about twice a week on my way back and forth to Yakima.

Welcome to Bigger Pockets Terrence.

I'm also in Yakima, so I'd love to meet up with you.  I'm not a wholesaler, so I can't give you any advice there, but I do have over 600 rentals in Yakima.  I'm always in need of good deals, handymen, etc.

Hello Tim,

I have 3 properties that might fit your criteria.  One is $349,900 for an 8 unit apartment complex in decent shape.  Gross rents are $3,900.  The 2nd is $375,000 for an 11 unit property that needs a lot of work.  Gross rents are $5,445.  Last is $575,997 for a tri-plex, built in 2007, in excellent shape in a good neighborhood. Gross rents are $3,330.

All located in Yakima where I manage over 600 units.  Feel free to reach out to me if any are of interest.

Our property management firm ran about 4% for the non-harvest season last year.  Currently we are sold out of all our apartments and running less than 1% on our homes.  This is unusually low for us, so I'm not sure if it is just a short-term drop in vacancy rates for Yakima, or if it will continue to be this low.  

The population change for Yakima County from 2010 to 2014 was 1.8% according to the US Census. I think projecting the number of jobs Yakima County gain in 2016 is a challenging task. Historically job growth for Yakima has been 0.8%.  But, it is a steady growth without the highs and lows that other areas have experienced.  This makes the market in Yakima a much safer investment strategy in my opinion.

The article is mostly accurate, but a little misleading.  It is true that the vacancy rate last fall was 2.2 percent.  However, the vacancy rate in Yakima is always very seasonal due to the significant amount of migrant workers that arrive every fall for harvest season and then leave when the harvest is done.  The vacancy rates in the rest of the year is typically much higher.  It is also true that the vacancy rates were in the double digits not long ago.

With that said, I personally own over 100 units in Yakima and manage over 600 units all together for the very reason that it is possible to purchase multi-family properties in Yakima that cash flow well.  

The app works perfectly on my iPhone.  Thanks for the update. 

My experience has been that you will not be able to simply call the police to report a trespasser and have them removed.  The police will likely tell you it is a civil matter and that the owner of the property will have to file an unlawful detainer action in court.  Since the owner is out of state, I'd recommend the owner hire an attorney to handle the eviction.  It will likely take more than 30 days to get to the point of the sheriff removing the occupants if they don't feel like leaving.

I'm managing a "non-conforming" 7-plex for another owner.  I had asked the owner if he was concerned about something like a fire destroying the property and not being able to rebuild.  He said he had a very hard time finding an insurance company willing to insure the property, and that it ended up only being insured for a legally permitted replacement structure, which would be a single family home due to zoning.  

So, he's making a lot of cash flow now, but taking a huge risk in that he cannot ever rebuild a similar structure if it were damaged.

Hello Tricia,

Yakima is a great place to invest for cash flow.  But, the growth and demand is pretty flat compared to larger urban areas.  The population percentage change from 2010 to 2014 was 2.3% according to the US Gov Census.   

Tim mentioned above an increase in rents of 10%.  I have over 600 homes and apartments in Yakima, ranging from low income apartments to very large high end homes.  I'm also a board member of the Yakima Landlord Association for the past 6 years, and I have never seen a 10% increase in rents year over year.  

Washington State University used to do a survey of rents in various areas that included the City of Yakima.  Each year they increase in rents have ranged from 2.4% to 2.7%.  Based on my personal experience in town, I would say that this year is no different than previous years.  

As Chris mentioned above, Yakima is a very agricultural based city, so the economy does not have the highs and lows that more urban areas have.  

With all that being said, it is very easy to quickly fill vacancies here if you keep your rents and expectations in line.  Yakima's been a great place for me to grow my cash flow, so I highly recommend investing here.

And, thanks to Frank whom I just met recently at a Bigger Pockets MeetUp.

Good luck investing Tricia!