All Forum Posts by: Ian Love

In the Seattle market and surrounding areas you have to be extremely quick to take action and learn the market so well that you can spot a good deal as soon as it comes on. My Client was able to close on a home 2 blocks from Green Lake last weekend by doing just that. The home went on the MLS on a Thursday at 7pm and we went and looked at it at 9pm. I called the listing agent to let him know we were pre-approved and ready to close quickly that night and set up an inspection for the following morning. At 7am I drafted the offer and had it signed before the 10am inspection so that we were ready to get it delivered as soon as the inspection was done in case it came back clean. Offer was submitted by 4pm and although there were 4 other pre-inspections set for the following Saturday along with two open houses set for the weekend we were able to get the property under contract that night. Our original offer was at list price and the seller originally wanted to wait to see what other offers came in on Saturday and the other inspections.

We knew it would easily get bid up if it went through to the weekend so this was our one chance to get a favorable deal done for my Client so I asked them to counter at a price that they would be happy with so that we could get it done Friday night. The seller countered at $779K which was just $20K over asking and we signed and were under contract by 11pm on Friday! The next morning the seller received 4 offers in excess of $820K and we ended up having the lowest offer. Long story short, you have to take quick action and be ready to move as soon as you see something you like. Let other people who don't know the market as well and who are spending time analyzing miss out on the deal while you are taking action and getting the house you want! The more research you do, the better prepared and more confident you will be. 

In order to qualify for the 250,000 exemption, you must live in the home for 2 of the last 5 years as your personal residence.

Thanks everyone. I am going to get a letter to them today and will let you know how it goes!

Thanks Bill. That makes sense. Appreciate the input.

Thanks Joe. Would you recommend making an offer up front, or letting them know I am interested first and asking them to respond if they would be interested in talking further?

I recently noticed that the house across the street from my home has been sitting vacant for going on a couple months. I did a little research on the property and found that the owner has owned the home since 1983 and only owes about $80k on the property. Based on comps in the area and a quick look on Zillow, it is worth around $300-$320k. I had my agent try and find me a mailing address that I could send a letter to, but the only address listed for them is the home sitting vacant. I would like to get in touch with the owner somehow and am planning on dropping a letter in their mailbox this week letting them know I would love to buy the property, but am not sure exactly how to phrase the letter. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can give myself the best possible opportunity to make a deal here? I was thinking of making a cash offer up in the letter for closer to $200K, but not sure if I should hold off on the specifics until I have spoken to them more. Thanks!

Zach, thanks for the reply. I am actually familiar with the 1031's as I am a CPA with a background in tax. I have never heard of a parcel having two duplexes on it, that would be a great deal if I could find something like that, but would imagine it would be difficult to find someone willing to sell that sort of thing. I will definitely explore the options you provided further.

I purchased a large bank owned 3,500 sq ft home in North Seattle in Sept of 2011 for $260K. The home has a mother in law unit which I have been renting for the last 2 years for $1,000 a month and was able to refinance to a 3.5% mortgage at about $1,400 a month. Based on zillow/red fin, the home is now worth $470-$500K. I looked into getting the property zoned as a duplex, but that doesn't look to be an option based on the location being surrounded by SFH's. Over the last couple years I have been able to save about $40-$50K which could be used for another investment property and have actually put a few offers on foreclosures and other bank owned homes, but lost out to all cash buyers in the area. Now that prices in Seattle have jumped so high, I am feeling like the opportunity to find another home at anywhere close to the deal I got on my first one is gone. I am curious if anyone has any creative ideas on how to leverage my current situation into a profitable next move. I have thought about potentially selling my current home and rolling the gain on the property into a 4plex and living in one unit, or using the money I have saved to purchase another property (albeit at not much of a discount likely) and having a friend or family member rent the top unit of my current home while serving as a landlord to the bottom unit and possibly helping to avoid any legal issues that could come from not being properly zoned. Any suggestions are helpful, I just feel like I am stuck. Thanks!

Thanks Will, looking forward to it

Thanks Brandon, will do!