Buying an investment property right is the key!

July 13th, 2009 Jacquie Cliff - Real Estate Broker

Buying an investment property right, so that it cash flows is the key to making money with the buy and hold real estate investment strategy. Even the newspaper is saying it, so you know it has to be true.  Of course when I say buying it right, I mean buying it cheap enough that it has positive cash flow. 

Until the drop in the market, finding a cash flowing property in the Seattle area market was a pretty difficult thing to do.  Unless of course you wanted to put 30% down which seems a bit over the top to me.  Now with the market down and banks cutting deals on REO and short sales, I am definitely seeing more properties coming through that make sense to buy.

Part of buying a residential real estate investment property right, is getting all of your costs worked out ahead of time.  That way you will know if it is going to have positive cash flow.  One larger item that many people forget or think they can do themselves is property management.  I strongly encourage everyone to hand that job off to professionals. 

Yes, property managers do take a cut of the revenue, but consider that the reduction in headaches and time spent dealing with your rental property is well worth the price.  Additionally a good property manager will save you money by screening for good tenants, and not letting bad tenants slide on the rent.  I have seen a good number of owners get stiffed because they bought a tenants sob story on why they couldn’t pay the rent.  Of course they always say they are good for it, but hardly ever make good on the promise!

If you have pulled your money out of the stock market and are wondering what to do with your 401k or IRA, consider buying a rental property or two.  Whether a single family home, duplex or fourplex, the numbers are looking better than they have in a while, and as bad as it has been in the last few years, the real estate market looks a whole lot more stable than the stock market these days!

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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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