All Forum Posts by: Lane Kawaoka

Let me know if your in seattle

I'll talk about the elephant in the room on why some people leave coming from someone local. If you come to Hawaii thinking you are hot stuff then you will not be accepted. Japanese culture is really strong and the saying "the nail that sticks out gets pounded" applies. So being humble is the key and a lot of the skills that it takes to excel in a career on the mainland can be your downfall in Hawaii. Thus is why people who go to Hawaii come back to the mainland with their tail between their legs and say it was not for them. It is what it is.

Maria Keating You might be putting the cart in front of horse here a bit. Look at the numbers first and if it make sense then factor in the landlord laws. It's like saying I don't want to work for x company because because of minor issue. The logical way to go about it would be is that somewhere you want To work for and then look more closely at it. Not the best example but I think you get the point. As for landording in Seattle. Seattle is defiantly a little more on the pro tenant. It's a blue state so that's typically an indicator but overall it should be a minor factor.

Michelle Ho Hi I do out of state rentals but it's not the solution for everyone. I.e. Different time horizons.

@Dan H. I used the same spreadsheet that does the whole Lifecycle Cost Analysis thing. But its pretty subjective. These homes typically do not have washing machines, garbage disposals, garage doors, or those annoying things that break per design.

@Sundeep Amin I don't think this is a "great" deal. I did little work and its good per my effort. I have a certain niche that I do go which are the higher priced properties even though the proforma rent to value ratio decreases. Its not all what it looks on paper. I have two reasons for this 1) better tenants/less headaches and 2) use of my finaite fannie mae loans. 

@Jay Hinrichs &(@Michael D. if you own properties in Bham). You mention 50% expenses, I am just curious in relation to that do you see a difference in 800 rent/50k properties or the 1000rent/100k properties? I personally don't think its the 50% for the two classes. But that is my opinion.

@Jerry W.

I use 30% for expenses. Maybe in a few years I will bump up to 40%.

Its in my signature line

I don't personally agree the aforementioned underwriting especially the quazi 5% holding costs but I'm not really here to argue that. What I do know is this being my first property like I said I over paid by 3-7k cause I did not know what the heck I was doing. @Sundeep Amin It really has nothing to do with 1% 2% that is just a starting point. I can get properties all day long today that rent for 800 that cost 40-50k but the tenant quality is lower and the 'time' it takes to acquire it.

That brings up the *Time-Money-Experience* triangle. Look I know that there are a lot more experienced folks who have the ability to find 2-3% deals and do magical things. Myself I have a full-time job that I make a good salary and I enjoy going to for the most part. Heck I get free coffee there. What you see in these forums is what I call the #BPBP Syndrome (the BiggerPockets Bi-Polar Syndrome). What I mean is that the vocal folks on the forums are very active saying and they can do much better. Real Estate is their job and they are damn good at it. I am a passive investor who has limited time to source screaming deals and just needs to place my money and quit screwing around on the sidelines. I believe passive investors like myself are actually the (quiet) majority of folks on BiggerPockets.

I think what we can all agree is that real estate is the best investment vehicle out there and what I love about it is that even when I buy these "lukewarm" deals I still reach my goals faster than the stock market.

#BPBP Syndrome