All Forum Posts by: Heather Hearsey

Wanting to join a landlord association to get the most current laws, forms, news etc. for the Seattle area. Rental Housing Association of Washington looks better online but costs twice as much as Washington Landlord Assoc. Wondering if anyone has any opinions. I was using the NWMLS for forms but my license is inactive currently and with all the changes to landlord tenant law it seems like an association specifically for landlords may be best.

Thanks!

Thanks for the tip Rick!

I used Rockwell, you have the option of in class or online. I think I would have finished quicker if I had done the in class training but depends on your schedule. Good luck!

Wanting to join a landlord association to get the most current laws, forms, news etc. for the Seattle area. Rental Housing Association of Washington looks better online but costs twice as much as Washington Landlord Assoc. Wondering if anyone has any opinions. I was using the NWMLS for forms but my license is inactive currently and with all the changes to landlord tenant law it seems like an association specifically for landlords may be best.

Thanks!

Thanks Joe and Mary! I'm not quite there yet but I will definitely look into HomeSmart!

What the city is trying to do is prevent landlords from starting bidding wars, just like in house sales. People with more $ will offer to pay more or give a non-refundable deposit to get the place. This makes it harder for the average person to find a place. The law doesn't help a single mother who makes a decent wage and has an ok credit score because she works and has a kid to take care of the likelihood that she can be the 1st person to view a property is slim. If your a couple then you may have more income and one of you may have a flexible work schedule, these are the people who will typically get the places they want with the new law. There is not rent cap so one of the first criteria will be to charge more, which is not going to help the people that the city council says they are trying to help.

Originally the mayor talked about a program that would reward landlords who kept there rents at a reasonable rate, I don't know if it would be a cut on property taxes or what since we don't have state taxes but I would have been fine with that but it never came to fruition?!

I have a duplex and I am friends with my tenants, if any of them decide to move I will get referrals from them or other friends and colleagues, the law is only for advertised rentals.

Hi,

I did my first 3 years with a boutique agency in Seattle which was fine for the purposes of buying and selling my own properties or those of friends and family but there wasn't any new client leads and the desk fees and percentage to me wasn't great considering I tend to do most of my work at home and on my own phone (I didn't have my own desk at the office).

I decided to deactivate my license when I was schedule for a surgery that would lay me up for a few months but am now thinking about options for hanging my license. I have heard about online brokerages that charge a small fee for E & O insurance and general assistance if needed and only charge a flat fee per transaction. I'm wondering if there is anyone out there who is using one of these companies or has similar alternative; particularly if it's available in Washington State.

I'm currently looking for a regular part or full time salaried job and just want to be able to handle the 1 -3 transactions I might have for myself and friends throughout the year.

Thanks for any help you can give!

Definitely talk to some local lenders.  The one question I have is whether you were planning on giving your fiancee the $ for the 2nd property? That could be an issue.  Even though you are allowed to give gifts of $, lenders are pretty diligent about asking where some of your money went or where $10k or more came from.  Gifts of $ aren't always looked at as positively as you may think; in a banks eyes it means you personally don't have that much $. It's really about  how much you make and save yourself. I've seen a number of people who make over $150k a year not be able to buy a house because they only had the down payment and nothing else. First find out what the probability of you getting a loan is then go forward from there. You may find that you'd be better off buying one multi-unit and then utilizing both your incomes as a married couple and buying a primary residence in a year or two. Just a thought.

Good Luck!

I would be inclined to try to cost effectively turn the extra parking spot into an outdoor patio for your own usage but not tear up concrete if that is what you were thinking. I think most renters are happy with one parking spot. Renting the garage is definitely an option. I find that a lot of landlords in Seattle either keep the garage for their own items, rent it out, or ask for extra $ from the tenant in order to use it. I had a client in Ballard who only had one parking spot on a 3200sf lot and had covered it with beauty bark and added a fence to enclose it. It was fine for her and her dog but when we went to sell it people's biggest concern was the lack of parking so we removed that portion of fence and mentioned that it had previously been a driveway/parking spot. Depending on the composition of the ground you could lay pavers and plant grass or ground cover in between them. I am actually wanting to get rid of grass on my property, less work for you or tenants is best.

I don't know where you plan on buying but you would be lucky to buy a tiny war box house in Marysville, let alone something closer to Seattle. I live in Shoreline and downgraded substantially from my home in Seattle and still pay $2000/mo. mortgage (3.6% loan)!  I am lucky that when I got laid off in 2010 I sold my house and bought a duplex to live in until I could find permanent residence which I used the other half of my proceeds to buy. But that was 4 years ago, there are hardly any multi units to buy and if you found one they would cost you dearly. Mine has increased in value by 75%+ but that was in the fallout of the financial crisis. I don't doubt prices will increase but I doubt the % will be as high. My point is that in our market you would be best served by paying down your loan; you will save $ on interest and improve your credit score. Even if you were to invest it in the stock market and yield 10%, it would be a wash after taxes and fees.

The other option is taking it over to Tulalip and putting it on the roulette table. JK!