Brian Hughes

I'm a computer nerd who chose to invest in RE instead of the stock market. I started with a fixer house I lived in, and sold that to buy my first rental property in 2006. Other than RE and computers, I'm involved with building electric vehicles, EV advocacy, and various outdoorsy pursuits when I have time. Experience: My first house was a substantial fixer in north seatle. I lived-in and fixed it up for about 5 years. In 2006 I sold the house to raise funds to buy my first multifamily, a triplex in south seattle. I moved into a vacant unit there (now called house hacking) and used that strategy to get myself to four rented units plus my residence. I bought another SFR for my own use in 2019 officially ending 13 years of house hacking. By that time I had 7 rented units. The pandemic slowed me down a bit but at this point I have 14 doors having purchased my first commercial scale (7 unit) residential property. My properties are all in Seattle or nearby jurisdictions. The closest one is a 10 minute drive from home and the furthest one is about 40 minutes. My goal is to get to around 20 units. At that point I will switch focus from collecting units and relatively free-flowing renovation budgets to more cost conscious operation of my major-expenditures-all-taken-care-of portfolio as I transition over (hopefully) to having RE rental income be my primary source of income. All my properties consist of 2-3-4 units structures, the 7 unit is multiple structures on the same lot. I target close-in locations to small urban centers and downtowns and properties that are basically sound and habitable but will benefit from proactive, professional and invested management and systems upgrades and repairs and 'working class' grade cosmetic improvements. So my typical unit doesn't have quartz or granite countertops or tile or stainless anything, but its clean, recently painted with newer flooring and fixtures and decent millwork, and all the appliances, doors, windows, etc. are modern and in good operating condition.