All Forum Posts by: Julien Jeannot

I agree with the above posts. The Eastside does not meet these rules.

I'm also a big fan of focusing on buying rental prior to improving your home, unless you are about to sell it and invest into your next house hack.

In the Seattle area if your time horizon is longterm and you plan on living in the unit for a while, you can forgo the cashflow upfront.

Consider rent can rise 7% to 10% every year, but your costs are mostly fixed, the equation will right size fairly quick. Given the Seattle area market takes huge appreciation, you are building your equity and net worth at a fast pace.

I've bough what was deemed over priced properties in terns of return on cash, but 4-5 yr down the road, they beat the 1% rule and 2x in equity.

Not the best play, but I'm pretty happy with the numbers. I'd rather get base hits all day long then watch from the sidelines.

Another approach would be finding a strategy that cash flows better. STR is good, mid term rental also good, however, if there is an HOA they usually impose restrictions.

I would agree. HOA fees and assessments can easily eat into your profits. We are looking to sell all of our condos. I also view HOA fees in as capital reserves in a sense. However when you sell, you can't take unspent reserves with you.

Commute, school district, and you'll get more in Everett in terms of house, yard, and product vintage/rehab for the price.

Welcome Jacob!

I love the duplex strategy. I live in Seattle area and that's how I got started. No experience but a dream and youtube.

 House hacked the duplex and the rest is history. Feel free to reach out, happy to share.

Welcome!

I'll give you the classic Accountant answer: it depends. I find its best to define your goals first then work backwards to answer your questions.

My general view:

1. Buy as soon as you can and as often as you can.

2. Seek advice from the pros in your area: Join local investment groups and find a great real estate broker

3. That one really depends. It can be done with as little as $0.00 or with as much as you can save. Lots of great strategies from private lenders, HELOCs, or owner finance.

4. Not familiar with that one.

I'm a fan of Puyallup and Lake Steven. 

Given the high competition for properties in the area, I've switch my strategy to looking for solid base hits rather than home runs. The Seattle area is more of an equity play which doubles which doubles the investment through appreciation quite easily.

I found that I have passed on fantastic deals in hindsight by always looking for "highest" and "best."

Fantastic list @Scott E., I've added to my own.

Thanks!

 Thanks, what does your due diligence look like?

 Thanks for the insight.