We work with a lot of investors who decide to manage their own rental properties instead of hiring a property management company. Here are five quick tips for any of you who are managing your own rental property:

1. Build your own team. You won’t be able to do this alone. You’ll need general contractors, cleaners, locksmiths, and more. Interview around to find the best ones and make sure you are ready to go when it’s time to buy your rental property.

2. Find a trusted attorney. You’ll need one on your side who is well versed in landlord-tenant laws. You’ll need the attorney to review your lease as well.

3. Have a thorough property condition report. We can’t tell you how many times we’ve taken on a property with a poor condition report. Take pictures, take notes, and make sure you’re aware of the property’s condition in its entirety. If you don't have a condition report, you can’t collect a deposit, so it’s a must-have.

4. Screen tenants thoroughly and stick to your criteria. A background check is a good idea, as is checking references. There are certain questions you should be asking too, which your attorney can point you toward.

5. Join a landlord association. Network as much as possible so you can keep up with all the current changes to landlord-tenant laws.

If you have any questions for us about this topic or about anything else related to real estate, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Here are the top five ways to increase your home’s value before you decide to sell it:

1. Upgrading the kitchen. If you have the budget to do a complete redo, it’s definitely going to increase your home’s value. If you don’t have the budget for a full remodel, doing things like painting, changing the flooring, and putting new countertops in will go a long way as well.

2. Upgrading the bathroom. Changing the flooring, replacing the vanity, and getting new paint in there will all help increase your home’s value.

3. Work on your curb appeal. This is a critical area of your home because it’s the first thing that buyers see when they view the home in person. Adding new mulch, re-sodding the yard, and painting the exterior of the home are great ideas to boost your curb appeal. You can get even more ideas on Pinterest. If buyers like your curb appeal, they’re much more likely to like the inside as well.

4. Replace your blinds and touch up paint. Take care of other small maintenance items as well and consider having your home staged.

5. Change out your appliances. If you have an electric furnace, you should look into a gas Avista furnace because they have a pretty good rebate deal going on right now. Adding A/C is also a good idea if you don’t already have it.

If you have any questions for us or want to get more tips on how you can increase and maintain your home’s value, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email today. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Today we wanted to provide you with five quick tips for starting out as a real estate investor.

1. Know what you need to build a good team. You need to have an experienced real estate agent and a good property manager who work together closely, and it’s a great idea to have a few contractors in your contacts.

Your agent will have access to a number of different investment properties, and they need to understand your goals. Be sure to interview them to make sure they know the ins and outs of real estate investments and will stay within your parameters. A property manager provides a number of services, like screening tenants and taking care of repairs. They need to work in tandem, allowing your agent to refer to your property manager to see what projected rents could be like, and so on.

You’ll also need a good attorney who can be in your back pocket in case of issues with tenants or if you need a lease reviewed.

2. Know your goals for real estate investing. Ultimately, what you want is a return on the money you put down to get the investment property. It’s also a good idea to brush up your knowledge of cap rates and cash-on-cash return, which we’ll discuss in more detail in a later video.

Whatever your goals are, communicate them with your property managers so they understand how that property needs to perform and what your expectations are.

3. Plan for a capital expenditure. Supposing your property will need a new roof in five years, you’ll need to have a plan for tackling that project. You don’t want to get hit with some major issue years down the road without having a plan or budget in place for that scenario.

4. Interview your property managers. Don’t settle for the one with the cheapest fees—you need to look at the properties they manage, find out how they manage their properties, and make sure they’re able to work within your requirements. Interviewing more than one will give you the best perspective on who will be a good fit for you.

5. Join a landlord association. Even if you’re not managing your own properties, it’s important to be a part of your local landlord association so that you can stay on top of industry changes.

If you have any questions for us or would like to see a video about a particular topic, please reach out to us. We’d be glad to speak with you.

Getting started with real estate investing can be intimidating. However, there are a few ways that you can begin to build your portfolio that don’t necessarily involve having a second mortgage.

One such strategy is house hacking. This is when you own a multi-family property or a single-family home with a fully finished basement and decide to rent part of the home out. This will help you get your feet wet with investing and help leverage your money as well.

One of the keys to investing in real estate is identifying your goals. You need to know how much money you have to invest because your down payment will change given your situation. If you don't own a house and are planning on house hacking it, you can take advantage of lower down payments with FHA, conventional, VA, and other loan programs.

Another big factor to determine is whether you want to invest in a single-family home or a multi-family home. With a multi-family property, your down payment is going to be higher—anywhere from 15% to 25%, depending on whether you’re living in it or not. Knowing what you have to put down and what your investment goals will be are essential.

An advantage of investing in a single-family property is that they tend to stay longer. They take care of utilities as well. For multi-family properties, typically the landlords pick up the water, sewer, and garbage expenses. There is more income coming in with these properties, but there are more expenses.

Those are the basics of real estate investing, but each situation is different. If you have any questions for us or want to know more about how you can get started with real estate investing, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

According to the latest numbers, our Spokane market is still looking good as we head into fall.

The average list-to-sale price ratio is 94%, which means if you put your home on the market, you can expect to get 94% of your asking price back. Our average days on market has jumped in the last couple months from 30 to 40 days, but that’s partially due to the seasonal change and many potential buyers focusing on the beginning of the school year and the upcoming holidays.

In short, it’s a great time to buy. From a historical perspective, interest rates are still relatively low, and if you buy a home in the wintertime, you can probably take a little off the asking price. If you’re holding out and waiting for the market to cool down a little bit, winter is a great time to start your home search as well.

Now is also a great time to sell your home, but you have to be strategic about it. Inventory is low, so you have to know the kind of buyer that will be looking at your home this time of year.

If you have any other questions about our Spokane market or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home soon, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d be happy to help you.

If you’ve ever so much as considered buying or selling a home, then you have likely encountered Zillow’s popular web-based value tool: the Zestimate. But how accurate are these Zestimates?

Before we get into that, let’s first take a look at where Zillow’s information comes from. Zestimates pull data input by its users, as well as from public records made available by the county assessor. Yet it’s the information Zillow doesn’t account for that really poses a problem.

For example, Zestimates do not reflect any improvements made to a home. Zestimates also can’t account for demand. This results in a major disparity between the property’s true value and the one indicated by its Zestimate.

In fact, there is typically about a 10% margin of error in Zillow’s Zestimates. And Zillow is well-aware of their Zestimate feature’s shortcomings. They have even gone so far as to put out an offer of $1 million to anyone who can improve their algorithm.

With so many gaps in what a Zestimate can detect regarding home value, it simply isn’t a reliable tool. The stakes are too high in a real estate transaction to trust something as faulty as a Zestimate. It’s always best to get a professional’s opinion on your home’s value.

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

There are a few important differences between buying a home and renting one, so today we’d like to highlight the pros and cons of each, as well as the costs associated with both options.

Let’s begin with some of the expenses involved in purchasing a home. First, there’s the matter of the earnest money deposit (around 1% of the purchase price), as well as inspection costs, which tend to be between $300 and $500.

The down payment is the next major expense associated with buying a home. First-time homebuyers should expect this to cost between 3% to 5% of the home’s price, while those buying a second, third, or even fourth home should plan on putting down at least 20%. There’s also the matter of closing costs, which are around 3% of the purchase price.

As far as renting goes, one of the most significant initial expenses will be the security deposit. This usually matches the first month’s rent, which is another cost to expect. Pet owners should anticipate a pet deposit as well. Sometimes this is a straight fee and other times it can is a monthly expense.

Now that we’ve discussed some main expenses of each option, let’s move on to listing a few pros and cons.

The main advantage of homeownership is that the property becomes an asset that can grow in value based on appreciation or sweat equity. Homeowners also enjoy tax benefits, as well as the ability to rent out their property for additional income. Finally, owning a property allows you the freedom to do whatever you want with the property.

Renting, on the other hand, offers another kind of freedom. There are restrictions as to what can be done with your home, but all the maintenance is taken care of for you. Those with a very busy lifestyle may find this appealing.

So, what’s the best way to choose between these options? It all comes down to how long you’re planning on staying in the property and what goals you have. Renting is a great temporary solution, but ownership is better suited for those seeking a long-term place to live.

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.