All Forum Posts by: David S.

Yeah I looked around but couldn't find anything, but I think I remember seeing something about it when I was doing research a few months ago. 

I remember reading somewhere that it was a state of Massachusetts requirement for the property manager of a rental building to post their property management company name (or landlord's name if he/she also manages the building) and phone # on a sign outside the front door of a rental building. Is this true? If so, can anyone provide a link for more details? Also, if it is a requirement, any suggestions of where/how to get the sign made?

Thanks, 

David

raise the rent - that'll cut down on the # of people inquiring :)

@Garrick S. yes indeed :)

it's all about being creative!

@Garrick S. Here's a suggestion - buy a multi-family property for 5-10% down because you'll owner-occupy it, then just leave one unit empty for 12 months to satisfy the owner-occupancy requirement -  you will "live" there - get your mail there, pay all your bills from that address, etc. - and you can still rent and live in Seattle during the year. Then once the year is over, you can rent out the empty unit. Yes you'll lose out on rental income of that one unit for the year, but in the long run it'll totally be worth it. 

not far from Everett Memorial baseball stadium

My best advice is to find the value-adds and focus on those. It's okay to over-pay for properties when you see potential to increase net operating income, which will make the whole thing worth it. Take the long view and try not to focus on first month's cashflow numbers. 

Garrick - I'm in the exact same boat as you. I work in downtown Seattle and really wanted to buy and owner-occupy a multi-family property in the city. However I quickly realized that I would never achieve positive cashflow on any property in the Seattle area, so I decided to keep renting in the city and look at buying cashflow properties outside the city. I managed to buy a great 4-plex in Everett last year and so far it's been an epic cash cow! So my advice would be to just keep renting near where you want to live, but don't be afraid to be a pure investor where the deals are to be found. Feel free to message me if you want to talk about this more.