All Forum Posts by: Reed Kelly

Hands on education is one of the best ways to actually absorb what you’re learning and test ideas. And books/podcasts/forums are a great way to shorten your learning curve so you don’t have to make so many hands-on mistakes!

Interior photos look great! I like the open concept with island (nice pendants above the island) and the front porch columns. #ArchitectApproved

Those proposed rental rates seem a bit high for SeaTac. There have been huge rent hikes in Seattle and surround areas over the past few years, but it is still area-specific. SeaTac is not the nicest suburb of Seattle. As the name suggests, it’s right by the airport and is ~45 min to 1 hr commute to Seattle. A quick Craigslist search for housing shows a 1br at $1000, a 2br at $1500, and a 3br at $1600. These may not be representative of the entire market, but your potential renter pool is probably price shopping too. I’d recommend digging into SeaTac rents and see if what they’re proposing is actually feasible.

99 Designs: I haven’t used them personally, but I hear ads for them on other podcasts :). They would be useful for generating inexpensive logos, business cards, etc for beginner investors. I know newbie investors shouldn’t get hung up on getting the perfect website and business card before they land a first deal. But if someone does want a graphic design package to appear more professional to lenders, tenants, contractors, etc, then 99 Designs (or something similar) could be helpful!

List Source would be great! Discounted leads goes a long way if you’re mailing to a big list.

Costar and LoopNet! Great for making the jump to larger properties.

Did you come up with the 165k+ ARV? It might be helpful to have a second or third opinion from other agents.

If the 165 ARV is based on the bad layout, you could compare the cost of a floor plan change to how much it would increase the ARV. If the stair change adds 15k to the rehab costs, but bumps the ARV to 195k would it be worth it then? I don't know what construction costs are like in your area, but it could be an option.

Try to have a contractor or architect look at it too. They may have some creative solutions to meet alter the stair configuration. 

Some jurisdictions require more/different permitting if you're altering the stairs. For example, if the current stairs are not up to code and you're working around them then you may be okay. But if you alter the stairs you may be required to bring them up to current code (which in some old houses requires a larger footprint so the stairs aren't as steep). All of this of course adds up to higher costs and longer time.

Wow, great idea to provide the seller with movers and storage! It’s great to see a real life example of “find their motivation for selling”. Good luck with the sale!

Welcome to the community! Real estate investing is a great road to go down and BP is the place to be! Be sure to check out the events page (BiggerPockets.com/events) for meet ups in your area. They’re a great way to meet other do-ers (investors/brokers/agents/lenders/contractors/etc) and find potential partners or hear about others experiences.