All Forum Posts by: Glenn Istre

A perimeter camera should put a stop to this and will cover you if she does it again. Also, can be a value add for the future since it is an added security measure. They are relatively cheap as well. You could charge her for it if you have a witness but you would most likely end up in a lawsuit. Rental insurance as a requirement could help offset the cost of this in the future. It is always good to have a tenant purchase rental insure before the move in. That way you are covered for any damages they may cause.  

Hi Michael,

Thanks for the information and the welcome! I currently live in Bothell and am looking to invest near me and north of Seattle (Lynnwood, Everette) area. I am also interested in area's by Redmond. 

Greetings Everyone,

I am new to the Seattle area and looking to meet people interested in real estate.  I love real estate,  I have my real estate license,  and also want to invest in real estate.  Looking to connect with anyone involved in or looking to be involved in real estate (Other brokers, mortgage brokers, wholesalers, investors, attorneys, CPA's,). Also, any good meetup recommendations would be appreciated.

- Glenn Istre

Greetings,

I am a new real estate agent and also looking for my first deal. I am hoping to connect with some investors/contractors/mortgage brokers/etc. Anyone who loves real estate and it's ability to build wealth. Let's get together and talk shop! 

Jaysen,

Thank you. I will see what they say. 

Greetings everyone,

I was just curious if anyone has a recommendation on the best/most accurate way to determine the cap rate for an area? Should I just run the numbers on all or several properties in the area? 

Eric,

Usually mortgage companies can give recommendations, real estate firms, and general contractors. You could also do a internet search and use yelp to see what kind of reviews they have. Honestly anyone you work with on this deal may know someone. Ask if they get any kind of benefit for referring a particular person. This does not necessarily discount the individual but more information may be required before making a decision on the appraiser.  

Hi Jose,

Q1: The short answer, yes someone can deviate from the rule. However, it does increase the chances of you having to cover the expenses that exceed income. The long answer is that the deal has to make sense. Will the rents cover all expenses? Your Cash Flow will take a major hit and being a new investor means you will have expense you did not consider. This can cause problems if you have to cover the expenses and don't have the adequate cash to cover said expense. Also, don't expect to be pocketing money at the end of the month because what little cash flow you have will go into an account for repairs/maintenance/vacancy/unknowns. With little cash flow it could wipe our your profits if anything happens. You could end up with a 0% cash on cash return and even a loss. 

Q1A: .9% could make sense if your cash flow is enough to cover any major/minor expenses. 

Q2: The theory makes sense but practice and theory rarely go hand in hand. 

Q3: Risk is subjective. If you are willing to take the risk is entirely on you. I personally would not take that risk. You most likely have heard this but "Live where you want, and invest where the market makes sense." 

Sorry, I could not offer more insight as there are too many unknowns about the property to determine the probability of success. 

I hope this helps. 

Hi Kevin,

So I know you may not like this but this is really a personal preference question. It entirely depends on you and what you want to do. 

That being said, a few things to consider are the benefits of cash flow vs appreciation. 

Appreciation, in my opinion, is better now as you are still working and don't need to worry about money so much. Plus, with each year your cash flow will increase so by the time you are retired your cash flow will be relatively high. Also, with appreciation you can sell the property off if you are ever in need of a large amount of cash. This also works well because if you choose to get a property manager later the cash flow will have been increasing so you may be able to cover the cost without taking a hit to your income. 

Cash flow, again my opinion, is better for retirement as you have a steady stream of income. Your cash flow will increase steadily if you raise rents properly. Now if you focus on cash flow early you could use the extra cash flow to grow your portfolio faster. This will require more effort on the managements part as you have to pick properties much more carefully to maximize cash flow. 

If I were in your shoes, I would focus on appreciation. I hope this helps!

Hi Eric,

So there are roughly 4 methods to determine the price of a property. The first is the CMA or comps. This is the most readily and easy to use method. The other 3 are Cost approach, income analysis approach, and an appraisal.

The appraisal performed by a licensed appraiser would be the most accurate in this case but if you do not want to pay the cost to have the appraisal then it may not be worth it. I would recommend this approach if you are planning on tearing it down and building something new because the appraisal may require the land to be surveyed so you get that bonus. 

If you are not looking to spend money the cost approach could be used. This is essentially the cost to build an exact replica of the house. The problem with this is the material costs can vary and you would need to determine if you would use the cost of material that is similar or exact replacements. 

The last and most likely the least useful would be income. This property is not and will not generate income so i would not advise you use this. 

I hope this helps!