All Forum Posts by: Julien Jeannot

@Anna Decker

Sounds like you have a great asset on your hands. Like all things, the answer to is it the right time to sell comes down to your goals and timelines to accomplish them.

I sent you a DM. Happy to connect to discuss in more details.

@David Yamamoto

I would screen them the same of a regular rental: full background, credit check, employment verification, & past landlord references. I use a 3rd party company and do the reference call myself.

I would add as many 1x1 interview to ensure fit as needed and share the set of house rules/responsibilities up front.

@Anna Bee

As far as insurance, help me understand what looking to have covered? I've had S8 in a property in Monroe and placed the same coverage as non S8 properties.

For me it comes down crafting a tenant criteria and vetting the tenant on the front end. Then periodic visits and enforcing the lease to ensure a positive experience.

Take care to follow local laws and fair housing rules. Section 8 is a source of income which cannot be used as a deciding factor when qualifying tenants.

A question that comes to mind: what goals are you looking to accomplish with a S8 only strategy?

@Paul Marschall

Sorry to hear, that's super frustrating. HOA and their property managers had a tendency to move a lot slower then I'd like in my experience.

Couple options:

1) Is to hire an electrician and have it fixed asap. Then figure out who is responsible for the bill and seek reimbursement.

2) Call your insurance and see its it is covered. In all likely hood, you are back to option 1 for a quick response.

@Julie Smith

I agree with @Justin Brin. Ask the HOA and their property management firm with an answer in writing.

I also share your concern, I've run into plenty of HOA and PMs that have interesting interpretation of their own legal documents.

@Keng Fong

1. I agree with @Rachel Kokosenski. When rates come down, especially in historically low inventory markets such as the Seattle marketing, demand will push price up. For every point the rates come down, the buyer pull increases by 7%. The best time to buy is now, especially if yo have a long term strategy and buy the property correctly.

2. House hacking is popular and effective in the Seattle area. That's how I got started and how many others do. Duplexes, rent a room, create an ADU out of a split level, DADU, or even rent out extra parking or storage.

 Solid advice, that how I got started and scaled: househack a duplex in the north end Seattle market.

@Wayne Lee

I take the same road that took me from zero to 10 units in the Seattle market: House hack a duplex in the north end market (Everett, Bothell, Snohomish, Lynnwood ect.)

Benefits:

- Owner occupied financing

- Hand on landlord experience

- Solid year over year appreciation & rent increases

- Tax benefits

I was able to scale to condos, duplexes and single family from that start.

@Caio Ferreira Torres

House hacking a new every year is a best base scenario, but it rather difficult for all the points already listed. Real estate is a long term game.

@Yee Chin

I'd avoid it. If it play out well, no problem, but if things turn sour, you now have a hostile neighbor to deal with which can make your life miserable and put the business at risk.

I've had a couple clients do that exact thing to save a few bucks and both ended in litigation. The worst part is the neighbor's actions are impacting the rental/VRBO business which is used as leverage to gain conciliation in the lawsuits.