I've always enjoyed attending local meetups for entrepreneurs. Not only is it a great networking opportunity, but many young investors are looking for new information. But in the last few years, the real estate market has changed—a lot. And sometimes I find that newer investors have an easier time keeping pace with those changes than
"I don't know where I went wrong. It was a great house. It was a great renovation. The money just wasn't there." It was 2012. I had just completed my first real investment in Oregon—and I'd barely broken even. Despite all my knowledge about rental properties, it just didn't seem to translate to flipping houses.
I still remember my first off-market house in Eugene Oregon. I already had four rental properties in my portfolio, but I had purchased them the traditional way. They were making me decent money too, but I was always looking for something more. Eventually, a good friend approached me. She was moving and wanted to offer
There's nothing quite as refreshing as the smell of Washington's pine forests. When I was starting to flip houses for the first time, I often wondered how much the state's scenic vistas contributed to its property values. But what I really should have been wondering was how to get an edge over my competition by
There's nothing better than the smell of fresh forest air that permeates Oregon. Between the state's magnificent forests, beautiful coastline, and vibrant urban areas, it has all the ingredients a real estate investor could ever ask for. But if the talk of forests didn't clue you in already, many areas of the state aren't exactly
When I first started my real estate investing business in Eugene, my biggest mistake was trying to grow it by using as little credit as possible. By minimizing the amount I borrowed, I thought that I'd keep my financing fees low, and I assumed the savings would pay off with more cash in hand for
Because I’ve been flipping houses in Washington state for decades, many of my colleagues recommend people starting out in the business come and talk to me. The piece of advice that I give new real estate investors more than anything else is this: Washington is more than Seattle. That seems pretty obvious, but it isn’t
When I was a kid, I was taught to fish in a tributary of the Klamath River, called the Sprauge. Like anyone who has grown up here, I pretended I knew how to grab fish out of the water from the moment I was walking, but of course, I needed the right tools. And I
“Real estate investing in Portland is easy, right? Everyone is so laid back and nothing ever changes.” This was said to me recently by my cousin’s kid, over beverages at the Old Gold in an old industrial space. He was looking to get into real estate here investing in Portland and, since I’ve had a
We’ve had a strange year here in Seattle. When the novel coronavirus first really came to the U.S., it came to Seattle. I remember being both concerned, of course, about the health and well-being of my family, friends, and everyone else, but also of the real estate market. I’ve been a professional real estate investor
