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Stop wasting money renting and househacking. By renting from someone else, you’re effectively paying their mortgage and building their equity. After a year of renting you have nothing to show for your hard-earned money. Take that same money and give it back to yourself by buying your own home, condo, duplex, anything!
Real estate doesn’t fluctuate as quickly as the stock market can and people (renters) will always need a place to live. Holding a property as a rental is a stable asset that will appreciate over time and you can always sell or use a HELOC if you ever need money to put towards other life expenses.
Everybody wants the perfect investment property that’s turnkey ready, with high cash flow, great resale value, in the perfect neighborhood, and all with low money down. That is a unicorn deal, it doesn’t exist. The elements of a buy box can usually be broken down into investment strategy, property type, rehab type, financing options and some other minor factors. Knowing how these factors apply for you will help you keep from waiting for a deal that won’t appear, or getting paralysis from analysis by casting too wide of a net.
Buying a House?
We’re here to help! View our most frequently asked questions about buying a home for the first time!
If you’re a first time home buyer in Washington you can use a Washington State Bond program like the Home Advantage or House Key Opportunity programs through the Washington State Housing and Finance Commission in order to get down payment assistance for your purchase. This is a great way to get started on your first property. If you combine one of these programs with the Energy Spark program you can save up to 0.25% on your interest rate for buying a green home or making the home you buy more energy efficient. To qualify for these programs, you must: Attend a First Time Home Buyer Education Seminar, Be under the income limit of $145,000, Have a credit score above 620, These seminars are free to attend, and the certification is good for 2 years. We partner with Caliber to teach these classes and get you ready to buy your first house as an investment. If you’re thinking about house hacking or just getting out of renting, these are the best ways to get into a deal with minimal cash out of pocket and maximum cash on cash return. If you’re coming from Bigger Pockets and wanting to do the BRRRR strategy – buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat – this is a great way to get started. We will work with you to find the property that’s right for you with the best return. You can check out James Dainard’s Bigger Pockets episode here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/biggerpockets-podcast-338-james-dainard
BRRRing in the Seattle area can be challenging due to pricing in this area. That being said, there are plenty of ways to make a great deal. Our brokerage specializes in front end analysis so that you can be confident in your purchase. We’ll provide you with all the data you need in order to execute on your investment goals. Here’re some examples of the things you can expect from us before you purchase a property: Rental comps, Sale comps, Rehab budget, Vendor list, Property Proforma, ARV. Contact us by filling out the form above to see if this is the right program for you.
Down payments typically range from 3.5% to 5% on an owner-occupied property. If you’re using an FHA or conventional loan. Discover which might be better for you. In order to figure out which loan is going to be the best for your situation you’ll need to talk with your lender. You’ll need at least a 620 credit score to qualify. If your credit score is above 740 you have a good chance at qualifying for a better rate. Find out more about how you can increase your credit score and improve your chances of qualifying. If you’re already working with a lender, they’ll be able to give you an estimate of how much you’ll qualify for based on your income and how much you’ll need to bring to the table at closing. If you’re still looking for a lender, check out our buying guide for more information on finding a lender.
Both loan officers and real estate agents only make money when you decide to purchase a house with them. For this reason, it is very important that you decide who you are going to work with early on in the home-buying process. You want people who will be your trusted advisers so make sure you interview multiple people and get a good sense who the pros and cons of each person.
There are plenty of things that you can do to improve your credit score. The biggest thing is paying on time. If you’re having trouble making payments on time talk to your loan officer or a credit repair agency to see how they can help. They can make suggestions and help you budget to stay on track. It might take some time but it’ll be worth the effort.