All Forum Posts by: John Barrett

Quote from @Jamie Laliberte:

@John Barrett Thank you. Do you know other investors in this area that might be able to help.

@Jamie Laliberte I don't really know any wholesalers personally.  I would suggest starting joining some of the local Facebook investing groups.  I personally like WAREI but there are a number of WA Landlord groups as well.  This will let you see who is actively doing wholesaling and allow you to connect directly with them.

I see a lot of people who look at wholesaling as the way to jump into investing.  Many do not appreciate the amount of work / how difficult wholesaling can be. I often suggest that people find a good paying job and focus on savings as a means to build capital.  Not saying this is what you need to do but just something to make sure you have thought about.

John

@Jamie Laliberte Totally understand and I can't be much help with that.  My strategy is more the save for down payments and then purchase for long term holds.

John

@Jamie Laliberte I am an investor in Snohomish County. Feel free to reach out and I am happy to answer any questions I can for you.

John

@Sean Kelly-Rand Given this is a site for investors (primarily real estate) I don't think there will be much diversity of opinion on this subject.  All the empirical data shows that rent control / rent stabilization / insert latest name for price controls will fail. These policies ultimately cause more harm to the people politicians are trying to help.

As investors it is easy for us to focus on the hard economic facts that these policies are terrible for our customers and communities.  I have to remind myself as I engage people (passionately) on this subject to remember that people's thinking shuts down when they are scared.  Rapidly rising rents are a significant source of fear and stress for our tenants.  We need to engage both tenants and elected representatives with compassion for what they are feeling and provide real policy solutions (expanded housing support & regulatory reforms).  The solutions to our situation will require time to work but we can solve the problem by working together.

John

@Dan Thomas I am really glad to hear you had a positive out come for you and your tenant in a tough situation. I completely understand what you are saving with regards to tenants needing funding to move.

Another option could be seeking assistance from local organizations to help the tenants with moving expenses. The local laws in my area make it easy to be taken advantage of when offer payments ahead of a tenant moving. Each situation will be unique and being flexible will give you the best chance of a positive outcome.

John

@Kelly Cochran This is negotiable between the two parties.  For the landlord obviously the soonest possible date is the best.  The challenge for the tenant is often figuring out where they are going to go next.  I like the option of having an amount you are willing to pay them if they are out by the end of the month and then a higher amount if they are out of the property more quickly (~2 weeks).

Just remember, they only get cash once everything is out of the property and you have secured your rental (new locks).  I have heard of situations where people provided the funds ahead of time and it never (almost never) ends well.

John

@Heather Faires Unfortunately unique / interesting ways of evicting tenants not via the court system opens the landlord up to levels of liability that are not acceptable.

Cash for keys with possibly debt forgiveness is by far the cheaper option than going the eviction route in most cases.  It's better for the tenant and offers the landlord the opportunity to get the property back earning income faster.  While this can seem very unfair, ultimately the sooner the landlord has a paying tenant in place the better for all involved.

John

We recently had to do an eviction at one of our units north of Seattle.  Following the process, it took 10 months to finally get her and her unauthorized guests out of the unit.  They were doing drugs and harassing the other tenants in our property but we had no ability to do anything other than post notices. 

During the junk out of the unit, the company removing all the junk found 1 loaded gun and numerous knives (not kitchen) as well as baseball bats.  I admittedly was surprised as we have only done a couple evictions in the nearly 20 years of owning rentals.  The fact is the world is more dangerous than it was previously.  We have to adjust accordingly.

John

@Enrique Anadilla I am sorry that you are having to deal with this situation.  Unfortunately, at this point you need to involve an attorney and start the eviction process.  Many attorneys are extremely busy with evictions so I would begin your search right away.  There are resources like the RHAWA & WLA both associations that can provide guidance.  The eviction process is deliberately slow at this time and it only seems to be getting longer.  That said, the earlier you start (with proper representation) the sooner you will be done.

From personal experience going through an eviction recently, I know there is very little the police can do currently.  While very frustrating, it is not the police officers who have chosen to not allow them to enforce the laws.  Be kind and respectful to all parties and let the attorneys move this forward.  

John

@Terima Nagatani reach out to @Adrian Chu. He’s done a number of loans for us and great to work with.

John