All Forum Posts by: Michael Haas

Sounds like some people are transitioning between rentals, remodeling their house, etc. But yes mostly locals. I was surprised too, but someone on our team just got 2 solid applications through NextDoor, so we're adding that to our list of sites to post to now!

@Tulika Bose - Real Estate Investing is all about turning good judgement, leverage, and time into generational wealth. Starting without much cash is often an advantage - it forces you to use higher leverage options, like HouseHacking, Second Home / Vacation Home Loans, Wraps, Subject To, or Seller Finance, which can really compound your returns when you do it right (or compound your losses when you do it wrong). Analysis Paralysis is tough, but remember the third, and one of the most important, components of investing is TIME - the early you get started, the early you'll see your returns compound. Good luck!

@Rodney Turner thank you for your service, and congrats on the investment! Turning over a past primary residence into a rental is the way a lot of us got our start in RE Investing.

Cheers,

@Graham Kim - saw you're in Seattle, are you investing locally or out of state? 

If you don't own a primary already, getting in with a local investment like a HouseHacked duplex is also a smart move, and a great way to get your feet wet investing with high control and low risk. 

Reach out anytime if we can help with anything, cheers! 

@James Jordan HouseHacking was, is, & likely will forever be the #1 to get started, so you're on the right track there in my opinion! I'll echo Brittany's sentiment - Burien and similar areas are a lot more compelling than Tacoma under current regulations - we've been thrilled with the rents we're getting in nice South King County neighborhoods like Lake Burien. 

Here's a couple tips for you as you get started Househacking:
1. If you find a property with a second kitchen (ADU or MIL), be aware that 80% or more of those units have been built without permits. Not a deal breaker necessarily, but a risk to be aware of and mitigate. That said, two units, whether a MIL unit, ADU, DADU, or Duplex, is definitely the way to go - SFH's without the second unit rarely perform well unless you do rent-by-the-room or something else creative, which is tough to scale and a lot of hassle.

2. Brush up on building code requirements: in basements you're looking for egress windows that are 5.7 sq feet or more openable (3ft by 3ft casement style windows work best), and ceiling heights 6ft 8 inches or greater (as little as 6 ft 4 inches is ok under ductwork and beams though)

3. I've had success with cashflow rentals around Seattle by getting off the beaten path- particularly large 5-9 bedroom SFHs that you can househack by the room or split up with an ADU / MIL. Establishing a short term rental / airbnb is another great way to maximize rental income as you're starting out, and easy to convert back to a LTR or MTR if the strategy doesn't suit you.

4. There are first time homebuyer assistance programs like WSHFC that you can get into a house for pretty much just the closing costs- could be just $6k - $25k up front cash to close on a $500k house. 

If you have good credit, good W-2 income, and just a little bit of savings buying a house hack is a financial no-brainer in my opinion. We started with this strategy in 2013 and 12 years later its insane how much income our slowly & steadily built portfolio throws off. 

Cheers and good luck! And seriously, message me anytime if you'd like to talk more about house-hacking, it's definitely changed my family's financial life and the lives of almost 100 of our clients for the better!

@Devin Bowbliss way to get started early! Real Estate investing in a nutshell is using good judgement, leverage, & time to turn an average amount of cash into life-changing wealth. As a Junior in college you've got time on your side.

A lot of these "mentor" relationships are forged in person, not online - I'd recommend attending local Real Estate Meetups as a great way to get started. We host one in Fremont, Seattle on the first Thursday of every month (tomorrow is the next one!) - search "HouseHack Seattle Meetup" & we should come up. Hope to see you in person sometime, and happy investing in the meantime!

@Matt Thelen Great info, thanks for sharing!

@Collin Hays your calculation doesn't take into account leverage - without leverage real estate underperforms most other asset classes, with (good) leverage it over-performs or matches (with less volatility, and more tax benefits).

That said I do agree - true real estate opportunities in this market are few and far between. We would need rates to fall, prices to fall, or rents to rise to see more of the "deals" investors have become accustomed to over the last 10 years. 

We've had success posting on Nextdoor.com & Local Facebook groups as well!