All Forum Posts by: Michell P.
Michell P. has started 7 posts and replied 153 times.
Post: Making first offer today - thoughts/ suggestions!

- Residential Real Estate Broker
- Portland, OR
- Posts 153
- Votes 105
Hi Stephen,
So it brings in 1300 total? Are you accounting for any costs?
Taxes, Insurance, Vacancy, Maintenance, Cap Ex, PM, Utilities?
If it just brings in 1300, then it seems that you may end up losing money / coming out even MoM.
Post: I need to get out the door

- Residential Real Estate Broker
- Portland, OR
- Posts 153
- Votes 105
Take just one step out the door and start saying yes.
It can be something small - like updating your network that you're starting to buy property. Someone is going to respond back with something as simple as "Let's have coffee."
So say yes.
@Neil Schoepp has great advice - and in response you're going to have interactions with people. Met up to discuss your goals? Yes. Go look at a property? Yes.
The more you do it, the easier it gets. Just need to take that first small step outside the door.
Goodluck!
Post: Hello from Portland, OR

- Residential Real Estate Broker
- Portland, OR
- Posts 153
- Votes 105
Oh, and regarding the LLC - yes, Oregon doesn't have a series LLC, but from what our lawyer told us, if you don't have ~$1million in a single LLC then you shouldn't need to start a new one for each property - but, other people strongly disagree with that strategy, YMMV (and I'm not a lawyer!).
There is a lawyer in Portland who specializes in small business owners & estate planning who has reasonable rates if you want to talk to discuss your options. I'm sure he'll pop up in a google search or feel free to PM me for his info.
Post: Hello from Portland, OR

- Residential Real Estate Broker
- Portland, OR
- Posts 153
- Votes 105
@Corey Petersen Welcome! Everyone pretty much agrees, Portland is tight - especially if you don't want to invest for appreciation. We mostly abandoned the idea of investing in Portland Metro after getting involved in 2 bidding wars where each property sold for over $100k asking price - basically meaning they were negative ROI....
For getting your re license, I spent about 2 years working with agents in the area before deciding it was worth it - we'll see how it plays out, but I already am making faster and more informed decisions than I was 6 months ago.
And I agree, you might want to look in to multifamily property - overall the cash-flow should be better, though pricing is still wonky.
Good luck!
Post: New Member from Portland, OR

- Residential Real Estate Broker
- Portland, OR
- Posts 153
- Votes 105
Hi Kyle,
Thank you for the welcome! I went all in on this thing, and left my job a short while ago - we'll see if that was a good idea or not soon.
I'll PM you about Soleil - I don't know if the mods would like me talking up my firm here.
Post: School changing to loft apartments

- Residential Real Estate Broker
- Portland, OR
- Posts 153
- Votes 105
No problem! I don't think the ownership style really matters - its the number of people and the size of the building that will affect the value. How many stories is the school? Are they planning on adding onto it? A 2 story loft is much less intrusive than a 10 story complex. Regardless, you'll still have buyers who will automatically take it off their list.
But if its 2 - 3 stories and they make them really nice, you'll probably be fine - check the rent rates vs a mortgage. If the mortgage isn't significantly higher then you'll have interested buyers. And local vacancy will play a factor, and housing inventory, etc.
A good realtor in your area could maybe give you insight into past sales of homes next to nice condos / lofts.
Post: School changing to loft apartments

- Residential Real Estate Broker
- Portland, OR
- Posts 153
- Votes 105
I've found SFHs next to apartments often aren't as valuable as SFHs next to other SFHs. Apartments like to build close to the property line, its noisy, lack of privacy in the back yard... Homes next to apartments seem to sit on the market a long time and end up turning into rentals.
Post: Help figuring out where to start

- Residential Real Estate Broker
- Portland, OR
- Posts 153
- Votes 105
Living rent free by house hacking is a great idea! And condos are often risky...
To start out though, you may want to sit down and decide exactly what you're looking for as an investor. What type of cash on cash returns do you want, or are you looking to get into an appreciating market? Do you want to invest close to where you work? And then take a look at your market and see if it fits your goals. Might help you narrow it down so you can ignore all the noise.
Good luck!
Post: New to Real Estate!

- Residential Real Estate Broker
- Portland, OR
- Posts 153
- Votes 105
Welcome Jeff!
Before you decide on a school, make sure to check with your state to see if they have a pre approved list. Otherwise you may end up taking a class they won't count towards your license.
Post: rentals

- Residential Real Estate Broker
- Portland, OR
- Posts 153
- Votes 105
Your first step really should be to call a few mortgage agents. They'll help you get pre approved and will let you know the process. You don't want to talk to investment firms without knowing the basics of what is possible.