All Forum Posts by: Roger Vi

Work backwards, define where you want to be and work back until you find a step you can make with your current situation. You have 25k and a full time job. You want to have enough cash flow to stop working. Sounds like you want to buy cash flowing rental properties, I would start with that. Do you like your current job? If yes, just find out what you can afford to buy and see if there's any good rental deals out there you can buy with your income. If not, maybe try flipping or wholesaling. Both require lots of work but with 25k you could take a little risk and leave your job right away with hopes of making money doing something you actually like.

I put one of those lockable mail boxes on site so tenants can drop off rent and any other documents for me. This works great since I live close but I am working on getting electronic payments set up for the future. I found many options but the hardest part is getting the tenants to trust new payment options. It seems a lot of older folks don't trust electronic payment yet and would much prefer personal or cashier's check.

I would set your search criteria for everything in your price range and maybe 20-50k extra, just so you don't miss something that's a few thousand over. If you decide to buy anything, don't do it because of the price alone. Make sure it is what you want and meets all your criteria. Set the criteria before you look, then be disciplined and wait for the property that both fits your needs and price range. If nothing shows up after a few weeks, re set your criteria. You won't make more money by simply spending more in this business. Every property has potential to be good or bad. Do your research and make sure you see enough properties before jumping in. You should know you made money the day you buy a property, otherwise it was either a bad purchase or you are not ready. Good luck with your search!

.1%*... Things are looking better already!

That's not just real estate... Key is to recognize that .01% and make the most out of them. Treat them right and they will return the favor.

$60? They got free credit monitoring nowadays! I use the mint.com one (I use all their products, love them). They are free for a basic credit score and will update it every 3-4 months for free. Many other credit monitoring sites out there. Also read something recently that says you need at least 19 credit accounts to reach the top credit tier. Just wanted to throw that out there, for a long time I thought they would lower your score for opening that many.

As already mentioned, seattle market is tough and expensive and it doesn't look like it's slowing down anytime soon. 3-4 bids on any single family home that's move in ready has been the standard for the last 2 years. These offers are coming in within 24 hours of the house coming on the market! Unless your planning to find off market deals and really work at it, I would suggest getting out of seattle to find deals. Out of king county has actually been my preference, I focus on snohomish county. We are north of Seattle and have many neighborhoods that have been expanding for years. Nicer homes in great neighborhoods can be found for a fraction of Seattle home prices. Feel free to shoot me a message and ask away with any questions you might have on the neighborhoods up here. I've lived here my whole life and am pretty familiar with snohomish county. Good luck in your search!

One thing that can't hurt is to start building your credit. It takes time to establish credit (3+ years) but once you can prove that your able to pay back debts the banks will want to lend you more and more; which means more opportunities in real estate. Here's a few rules you should keep in mind... 1. Never miss payments. Preferably, never carry a balance over to next month on your credit cards. Don't charge anything you don't have the cash to pay for right away. If an emergency happens, make sure you at least pay the minimum payment. 2. Do not not have any bills. Your credit score will not build just by not missing payments. You need to have payments that you can potentially miss to prove that your credit worthy. If you are on your parents phone bill, ask if they are willing to switch it to your name to start building your credit. You can do this with utilities, Internet, cable, etc... It's likely your parents don't need to build their credit at this point and would not mind giving you a head start. 3. Find some source of consistent income, or at least plan on it. Eventually you will need more money to get into real estate. If you have a way to accumulate a lot of cash, great! Go for it! If not, you will need to show income to be able to get a loan for your transactions. Parents/ relatives can help you if you have them but if you want to get money from anyone else you will need to prove you can make money. Even a part time job at the grocery store can help you qualify for a loan down the road. You will need 2 years income at the very least. Good luck in your journey!

It's people management x100. A single family rental is like being a waiter for one table at a quiet family restaurant. A multi family rental is being the bartender at happy hour. But if you hire out the work and pick the good deals, it's really all the same except the numbers are bigger on paper. The headaches are for whoever is managing the tenants but pretty much all other problems you could expect to see in a single family as well.

I would also make sure you give them proper notice and have them sign the notice understanding the rise in rent and option to move out. Give them clear deadlines to respond. I think Washington state is 60 day minimum notice for rent increase.