Duplex Depot - Duplex and Multi-Family Real Estate

Yes you can purchase a duplex or other rental property with money you have in your IRA or 410k!

May 18th, 2009 Jacquie Cliff - Real Estate Broker

Not everyone knows this, but you are allowed to use the money that is sitting in your 401k or IRA account to purchase rental real estate property!  Imagine not having to stick your money into the stock market, but to be able to really make your money work for you in the real estate market.

Everyone by now has heard that right now is the best time in the last 20 years to purchase property, but most people are not in a position to take advantage of this opportunity.  If, however, you have pulled all your money out of the stock market (hopefully before it tanked)

There are some rules and this is something you want to get some advice on, but it definitely is a much better way to make use of your retirement funds than gambling it on the stock market.  The big deal is that you can’t co-mingle IRA funds with your regular money.  This means that your property will have to be held by your trustee, and all the rents have to go back into your IRA.  The basic rules look like this:

Despite all this, purchasing rental properties with your IRA money is still a winning bet.  There are some hoops to jump through, but you get to take advantage of the appreciation and cash flow from your new rental property to balloon your retirement account.

If you are in the Seattle area and would like to sit down and discuss the current market and what opportunities exist for purchasing rental real estate, I am at your disposal.  You can call me directly at 425-773-3149 or send me an email at Jacquie@jacquielciff.com I can help you locate your ideal rental property and even put you in touch with some independent trustee managers to handle your account.

Jacquie Cliff – The Amazon Negotiator
Let me lead you through the Real Estate Jungle!

Real Estate Broker, Loan Officer and Real Estate Investor serving:
Lynnwood, Bothell, Mill Creek, Seattle, Bellevue, Marysville, Mountlake Terrace, Edmonds, Everett, Snohomish, Kirkland and the surrounding areas!

Call me with any of your real estate questions at 425-773-3149 or email me at Jacquie@jacquiecliff.com anytime!

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New Duplex Properties for 2009

January 14th, 2009 Jacquie Cliff - Real Estate Broker

We have officially made it into the new year, and with it I expect to see a good number of new duplex and multifamily listings on the market in Snohomish and King County’s.  For real estate investors this is a good thing, because with everyone’s credit lines stretched to the max, many investment property owners are looking to unload properties at a discount.  Right now in Snohomish County there are just over 100 duplex properties for sale, and with only 14 duplex properties sold since September 2008, the competition is tough.

To be sure there is disparity between the listing price for duplex properties in Snohomish County and what they are actually selling for, and undoubtedly there are several builders out there sitting on brand-new duplexes that cost more build than they are worth.  For ambitious real estate investors, this of course means opportunity.  If you are interested in getting started in real estate investing in Snohomish or King County, call me at 425-773-3149 and set up an appointment to go over your real estate investing goals and what needs to be done for you to achieve them.

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Investing in Duplex and Other Multi-Family Real Estate Beats the Stock Market!

January 1st, 2009 Jacquie Cliff - Real Estate Broker

For those of you that are still on the fence as to whether real estate is a good investment or not, I have a fantastic article for you written by Scott Snyder, a real estate agent in North Carolina.    Scott sat down and did the math on if he had invested $33,000 in a duplex property 10 years ago, and compared it to if he had invested that same money in the Dow Jones for the same period.  His results were AMAZING!

What I learned was shocking to say the least. To arrive at the value for the duplex investment I made a few VERY conservative assumptions. First, 20% down payment, 7% interest rate, 3% long term appreciation(Raleigh has seen more). Additionally, I assumed only a 3% cash return from the duplex.

The original $33K if placed in the DJIA would be worth $32.9K today, yes, LESS than the original investment. But the same $33K investment in a duplex with the above assumptions would be worth $119.2K+ or $86.3K MORE than the same $33K invested in the stock market. I realize the real estate market in some areas has seen a tremendous drop over the last couple years, so I am not suggesting that the duplex option is like a money market account. However, even in the areas that have experienced a tremendous drop keep in mind that they also saw insane and unsustainable gains that place their average return at well over 3% appreciation.
Read Scott’s Full Article on Comparing Buying a Duplex to the Stock Market

What does this teach us about investing for today?  I think the answer is simple:

 Buy and hold Duplex, Triplex and other Multi-Family investment property!

In ten years from now are you going to look back on things and wish you had put money into real estate investments that have positive cash flows, or be looking at your retirement with confidence because you have a portfolio of partially paid off, cash flowing investments that will continue to provide for you for as long as you need them?  The choice is yours!

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Duplex conversions make deals possible!

December 23rd, 2008 Jacquie Cliff - Real Estate Broker

Today while researching articles I came across an old blog post on how converting a single family residence into a duplex can be a great investment opportunity.  The reality is even with home prices down in many places, such as here in the Seattle metro area, the rents that can be generated from single-family home aren’t enough to justify purchasing them as a rental properties.  However if you can find a larger home with the right layout it can be possible to split it into two living units and rent it out as a duplex.  Generally speaking the rents for each half of the duplex is only slightly lower than what you can get for the property as a single-family home.  The result of this is that with a small investment to modify the property you can often times take a property with numbers that don’t work and turn it into one that has a positive cash flow.

Of course, there are always hurdles to overcome in converting a single-family home into a duplex.  Of primary concern is whether the property is suitable for dividing into duplex and what the local zoning and permit processes are.  I never said converting a single-family home into a duplex was easy!  When you start considering converting a single-family home into a duplex be sure that you have a competent real estate agent and remodeling contractor by your side.  This will help you make sure you get into the property for the correct price and have a solid estimate of what it will cost to convert the property.

If you are in the greater Seattle area and would like to sit down and talk with me about duplex properties and real estate investing, please send me an e-mail at Jacquie@JacquieCliff.com or give me a call at 425-773-3149.  If you’re outside the Seattle area and looking for a great real estate agent to help you with purchasing your duplex properties, I can  put you in touch with a hard-working and knowledgeable real estate agent in your area.

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The secret to investing in multi-family properties

August 22nd, 2008 Jacquie Cliff - Real Estate Broker

I sat through a webinar tonight about buying multi-family properties and why they are such great investments.  They went over all the standard reasons and I agreed with pretty much all of them.  I will re-cap a few of them.

Multifamily properties are easier to finance
This is for the most part true, because as you get up and away from duplex properties and into properties with 6 or more units banks are worried less about your credit and more about the long term financial stability and profitablity of the property.

Multi-family properties are easier to manage than single family rentals
Trying to juggle 15 single family homes can be a nightmare!  They are generally all spread out, have more pieces to need repair or replacement and just plain more expensive all around.  With multi-family properties you can hire a good management company and let them deal with it.  Even if there are repairs that wind up needing to be done, they are all in one place.

It is easier to gain equity with multi-family properties
Multi-family properties are valued not on the fickle winds of supply and demand, but are valued more on their capability to produce cash flow.  Because of this every dollar that you can increase will increase the value of the property by about ten fold.

The key element for investing in multi-family properties is having money to put down.
Banks are very willing to finance multi-family properties, but having cash down is essential.  Expect banks to want 20% down.  This of course doesn’t need to be your own money.  Very often people will partner up with people that have money to invest, to purchase properties.  If there really is any secret in investing in multi-family projects, finding enough private investors or ‘angel investors’ is it.  Eventually you will build up enough cash flow to fund your own purchases, but until then you need to find qualified people to invest and team up with you.

That is the crux of it, and you didn’t even have to sit through an hour long seminar that really was more of a sales pitch for the speakers program to teach you how to analyze cash flow and find angel investors, which by the way was discount priced at only $3,945.

If you have any questions about duplex and  multi-family properties in the Lynnwood or Everett areas, or the Greater Seattle area in general, give me a call at 425-773-3149 or email me at Jacquie@jacquiecliff.com.  If you are in other parts of the county and need help with your real estate and multi-family investing questions please email me and I will help you make a connection with a top notch agent in your area!

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