All Forum Posts by: Jack B.

 This isn't my first one, and I can't wait for foreclosures to trickle in, as noted this is part of a 1031 exchange, there is a time limit.

 I'm definitely hesitant. Resale will be an issue. I don't trust that there won't be 17K more expenses next year, that must have been some hefty repair and I'm trying to figure out what that was but whatever it was, I don't see any signs of anything new or repaired. Last but not least, this isn't a property I would buy in a normal market. It's the lack of inventory that is plaguing me.

I'm on a timeline due to 1031 rules. I got them to come down 20K in price at inspection, it's a duplex (not a normal one, a studio on one side and a 3 bedroom on the other). Both have their own kitchens, laundry and bath.

But the house needs a bit of work. Mostly cosmetic, current tenants are messy with kids. Supposedly current on rent according to the spreadsheets the sellers agent sent me.

The house had a fire in the attic before the previous owner ever bought it, so some of the wood there is charred.

The concerns are:

-Do I trust their spreadsheet as proof the tenants are current on rent?

-The house is in a rough area near a military base, I'm worried about re-sale down the road. This especially true with the signs of an old fire in the attic. The house had the knob and tube wiring removed long ago according to my inspector.

-The house is in a city that requires rental licensing with annual inspection. Last year the seller had to spend 17K on repairs due to the cities demands. This makes me wary. How do I know they don't have some fix this that or the other demand each year?

I used to have no problem generally unless winter or fall. Since last summer it has taken me much longer to find quality tenants. I raised my criteria to a 700 credit score instead of 650 due to eviction moratoriums. I only accept people who have stable verifiable rental history.

Now I've got a rental sitting vacant 3 MONTHS...all I get are low life's who have a 500 credit score, those who stopped paying their bills due to covid, and all kinds of other rif-raf. I just had a guy contact me with bad credit and no credit history. I'm super frustrated...

It seems like unqualified problem tenants are what is out there now...

A lot of landlords here are apparently selling. I'm considering it...

The listing agent told me by law they can demand only weekend access and 48 hours notice. I sent her the RCW for WA that states 24 hours notice and they cannot make unreasonable demands denying access indirectly.

My AWESOME inspector is booked solid but the availability he had is out the window due to the strange tenant demands. Listing agent offered her husband who is an inspector up for inspection. Problem is, he is biased and is nowhere NEAR as qualified as my guy who has been doing it for 12 years and built houses for 30 years. The Listing agents husband has barely been doing it from what I can tell. His references checked out though, but zero online reviews. Then again, I have no idea if his references are friends and family....

Should I walk? It's been tough to find a property in this market to add to the rental portfolio.

 12 days left to identify. 

Next investment, high appreciation real estate. That's how I've made my money.

I'd like it to be close to me so I can self manage but if I have to go out of state I will.

 Bill, my primary goal is to avoid paying the IRS and secondary is to keep growing the money. What should my break in case of emergency strategy be with this if I can't identify a property within 45 days? I need to work with someone on this.

That said, I can buy something in FL and avoid the issue, it's just not as ideal as self managing here in Seattle. PM's are expensive...

Goal 1 is to avoid paying IRS

Goal 2 is to keep growing that money via leveraged real estate. Ideally close to me so I can manage like I do with my other properties. 

Right now it looks like I'll have to buy in Florida (want to move there anyways in a year or 3 so might as well begin moving stuff there). I can find deals in FL. Even 2 hours south of Seattle, not so much.

But Tampa and Orlando have all kinds of deals.

I did two before in 2017, and it was tight then, days left in one case.

But now it's 12 days away and no luck in my area.

I started to look at multi family and single family that have sat 3 months hoping to go mutual and found out the hard way why they have sat; the seller and their agent advising them have unreasonable prices and demands (one guy wanted 60k over comps and 5k earnest money to keep as soon as we were mutual 🙄🙄🙄)

So I'm tempted to buy in Florida out of state and eat the property management costs. I plan on eventually relocating to FL anyways. It's much less competitive than King, pierce and thurston counties of the Seattle area.

Any other options?

I don't want to pay 40 to 80k cap gains tax 🙄🙄🙄🙄