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Our team of local professionals at Mynd Property Management are different than other Vancouver property managers. Servicing the greater Long View, Woodland, and Camas areas, we leverage real-time data to consistently better our services, providing owners with seamless management experience.
Customers working with Mynd can rely on us as their trusted partner, providing them with a healthy investment, and their residents with a happy home. Shipping and energy production once was Vancouver’s greatest investments, now, it’s residential real estate. It’s time to make your real estate investment work for you.
If we place a resident and they fail to pay rent at any time during their lease, we reimburse you up to $5,000 in lost rent while we resolve the situation.
If a resident we place moves out and leaves behind property damage in excess of their security deposit, we will cover the difference, up to $5,000.
If a Mynd-placed resident fails to pay rent and an eviction is required, Mynd will cover the court costs and legal fees up to $5,000.
Your rental property is one of your most valuable assets. You expect concrete, tangible results, and Mynd delivers. We focus on measurable results that you can see.
Quicker than average leasing times.
Less than 4 business hours for owners, less than 8 business hours for residents.
Higher than average resident quality score (720+)
No need to worry about rental payments, less than 2% delinquency.
Consistently high customer satisfaction scores (Better than 4/5)
Net Promoter Score of 58 versus industry average of 7
We start by hiring the best people with deep local expertise.We equip them with the tools, technology and data. You get results.
Whitley is your local Washington Portfolio Manager
Many Vancouver residents derive their incomes from tech or service industry jobs, while a large segment commutes to neighboring Portland for work. Combined, this creates a large pool of potential tenants.
Mynd’s property managers will make sure to nab you're the cream of the crop by conducting thorough background checks and face to face interviews. We’ll also conduct regular property maintenance to keep you and your tenants happy. During turn over periods we’ll handle repainting and deep cleaning. We’ll also keep track of zoning regulations so that you never incur any fines and so that, in the event of an emergency, you collect the insurance you’re owed
Vancouver is no stranger to cold winters, experiencing temperatures so cold that tree limbs and power lines freeze. This sets the stage for outages and weather damage. Explore our resources below to learn how Mynd’s Vancouver property management company closely monitor weather conditions to minimize property loss. We know how to handle Vancouver rental properties!
https://youtu.be/BT5XN1OXD60
Seattle investor and regional director at Mynd, Enrique Jevons, joined Steve and Alex to talk about how Seattle is doing amid the spreading coronavirus. How is this going to impact residents and investors with properties in the area? Let's talk through it.
Repairs are a given when owning a property—especially when owning a Seattle rental property. From roofs to appliances, something will eventually need repair. Our guest today is Enrique Jevons. Enrique is the Regional Director for Mynd for the Seattle Property Management division and is here to discuss that investors should expect to save for when owning a rental property in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, overall.
Steve Rozenberg: Hey, everyone. This is Steve Rozenberg with Mynd Property Management and I am joined here today with Enrique Jevons who is the Regional Director of the Pacific Northwest Property Management Division of Mynd. Enrique, thank you so much today for joining me. I appreciate it.
Enrique Jevons: Yeah. Thanks, Steve. Good to be here with you.
Steve Rozenberg: So what I'd like to talk about today is, if I'm an investor and I'm looking at buying a property, what can I expect are the normal things—average that will break in a rental property? Now, I say that with it with a grain of salt because we all know as investors, things break all the time that we don't expect. But you know there are going to be some standard things that we know are going to be of challenge that maybe we want to put in a reserve amount contingency fund knowing that that's probably going to be an expense for us down the road. Can you give me a couple of things that you think are standard that are going to need more attention than others in the Seattle area?
Enrique Jevons: Yeah, so a couple of things along those lines. One that I always highly recommend to people is, you have got to make sure you budget in enough money for repairs. Don't ever think that even—let's say it's a single family home where you use your primary residence, you lived in it. And you lived in there for 10 years and nothing ever broke and so you think that nothing's ever going to break in the future. The reality is, stuff does break. Especially anything mechanical anything that has moving parts.
Steve Rozenberg: If it has an on or off-swing, it’s going to break.
Enrique Jevons: It's going to break, yeah. So, appliance-wise, my experience is dishwashers, as far as appliances go, dishwashers seem to be the first item to give out. And then I would say, second to that is refrigerators and hot-water tanks. Hot-water tanks definitely have a certain life expectancy. You can't expect a hot water tank to live on forever. So these things are going to happen. But if you're budgeting, I would always recommend 5% set aside for repairs and another 2% for capital improvements.
So capital improvements, the roof, the hot water tank, other—flooring, things like that. You always also want to set money aside for that in order to have a reserve available. A reserve can either be cash in the bank. It could be a line of credit. Just make sure that you've got it available so an emergency happens, when something big gives out on you, that you have that money to be able to get it repaired.
Steve Rozenberg: Let me ask you this. With all the moisture in the Seattle area, is mold something? Mold remediation. Is that something you have got to be cognizant of when you're buying a property? And do you get an inspection? Can you explain that a little bit?
Enrique Jevons: Yeah, so definitely mold is something that is probably not necessarily unique, but certainly more of a challenge. And in wet locations like Seattle, you get a lot of rain. And so, as a result, you get more mold than when I was in the Bay Area.
And also water intrusion. So in basements. That is a bit more common of an issue that you’ve got to deal with. Also, mold is now, nationwide, a big issue. So just as, years ago, it was asbestos. Asbestos was the big scare and you had to make sure that you never touched it. Always divulged it, type of thing. Well, now mold seems to be the big issue. And then we get tenants who call and say, “I've got black mold.” And we get there, you realize, it's just surface mold, meaning that it's just in the shower or wherever—underneath the kitchen sink, a wet location where the individuals allowed condensation to occur. Or maybe it's a window and they've allowed condensation to occur on the window and they don't clean up.
So it's really more a matter of educating the tenant on how it's their responsibility and they need to clean it up so that does not become a problem. But if it’s another source, So, if it's a roof leak and the water is coming in from the outside or it’s a basement leak and you have got water coming in, then that’s the mold that you start to see on the ceiling, basement, wherever it might start appearing, that you go to attempt to clean it off, it doesn't clean off, or it's in a location where you realize that I really shouldn't be having mold problems, living room type thing, then you have got to make sure you're remediated.
So you got to get rid of the source of the water. Somehow waters getting in, you have got to first attack that and then make sure you do a good job of cleaning up because the worst thing that could possibly happen is you try and just paint over it, cover it up. Then the individual gets sick. If that individual gets sick, they go to their doctor and they say, “yeah, I reported mold to my landlord.” And the doctor says, “well, yeah, you've now got asthma or you've got breathing problems as a result of prolonged exposure to mold,” holy cow, you're going to be in a world of hurt as far as the potential liability of somebody suing.
And certainly, having documentation from a doctor that you have asthma now and having documentation that you submitted a maintenance request to have mold taken care of and it wasn't promptly taken care of…
Steve Rozenberg: Mold definitely has to be taken seriously. I've learned there are about 200 different types of mold. Some people say black mold. It's not normally the black mold that they're afraid of. But because mold typically is black, it is black mold by color, but it's not the black mold that everyone is afraid of. However, you're right.
And my recommendation is, and I know we kind of got a little bit off things, but it's important that if you do have mold or a situation, get a professional in there, in my opinion, and find out exactly where it is. What is the cause of it? Because sometimes, as you know, that comes down rafter lines. And it may not be where you think it is. It may be starting up on the flashing of the fireplace and running down the line. So you’ve really got to be careful. Water, I think, is the most dangerous thing in a rental property that can hurt you and from my experience.
Enrique Jevons: Yeah, no matter where the water is coming from, whether it's a shower curtain not properly closed all the time and it starts to make the linoleum start turning into a deep purple color and you wonder what's going on there. Well, that is because you’ve got mold growing on the backing of the glue and such on your linoleum. Which is then a problem because then you’ve got the bigger problem spot underneath.
So the whole moral of the story is, make sure you have funds always available to use that you can take care of these problems and make sure you always attack the problem professionally. Attack it right away. Don't delay. If your tenant, your property manager contacts you and says, “hey, this salt water tanks leaking,” saying to the person, “well, I need to get three bids on replacing the hot water tank.” You know what? That maybe is not the best decision because maybe you could save $100 here or there, but the reality is, chances are it's going to be so much more expensive of repair because you didn't get somebody out there immediately to care of the issue you were trying to nickel and dime.
Steve Rozenberg: You may have a property code issue. Some states have, and some locales have, property code issues of timelines that you have to get certain things fixed in. You don't have the ability to wait two, three weeks to get bids. I know in, for example, Texas, you have 72 hours when a hot water heater goes out. Otherwise, you have to put them up in a hotel.
Enrique Jevons: Okay, so Washington State is even a little more restrictive in that respect because there's two things. It's hot water and heat. The repair must be started within 24 hours. It doesn’t say completed. But those two items, specifically, are mentioned in Washington State law in the residential landlord-tenant act. And so again, you have got to know the law. You’ve got to make sure you take care of things right away. Otherwise, yeah, paying for a tenant to stay in a hotel.
Steve Rozenberg: Well, Enrique if somebody wants to talk to you more in depth about mold or things breaking or having Mynd manage their properties or just have a conversation with you because you're like the most interesting man in the world, how does someone get ahold of you?
Enrique Jevons: Ah, yeah. I feel like I've had everything happen over the years. Right now we've got over 900 homes and apartments that we're managing in Washington State. We're taking on additional several hundred and in this next year. So I have a tremendous amount of experience. I would say just about every situation. So please do reach out to us. Feel free to email me, I'm at enrique.jevons@mynd.co. I’m happy to reply to your emails. I know you've got a Facebook page going that I really enjoy so you can reach us there, as well.
Steve Rozenberg: Our Facebook group is Mastermynd Real Estate Investment Club on Facebook. Enrique and I are both members up there. We post good information. We have properties on there, hot properties. We break down deals. We do webinars, all of that in there for free exclusive to our group. Again, Mastermynd Real Estate Investment Club. Also, if you want to know more about Mynd Property Management, go to M-Y-N-D.C-O. I am Steve Rozenberg, and I'm here with Enrique Jevons. Enrique, thanks a lot. I appreciate your time today, buddy.
Enrique Jevons: Yeah, thanks.
Steve Rozenberg: Talk to you guys later. Bye-bye.
Enrique Jevons: Bye.
Saving for inevitable repairs and maintenance in Seattle is the smartest decision a property owner can make. As such expenses are an inevitability, having funds available to make those repairs immediately can save thousands in the long run.
And while appliances and other mechanical repairs are inevitable, preventative maintenance can save money, as well. Likewise, as certain repairs, like hot water heaters, have to be replaced or have the work begun within a certain amount of time, every investor should keep up-to-date on laws to stay ahead of the game and keep their tenants happy, overall.
Last Modified 09/11/2020
With such a diverse economy, Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, generally, are a great place for any new or seasoned investor to consider. Today we are speaking with Enrique Jevons, Regional Director for Mynd in the Pacific Northwest, about the reasons why he thinks Seattle and the Pacific Northwest is a great region to invest in real estate now and going forward.
Steve Rozenberg: Hey, everyone. My name is Steve Rozenberg with Mynd Property Management and I'm joined here today with Enrique Jevons who is the Regional Director for the Pacific Northwest for Mynd Property Management. Enrique, thank you so much for joining me today, buddy.
Enrique Jevons: All right. Good to see you again.
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Steve Rozenberg: Good to see you. So today I want to talk about being an investor and buying properties in Seattle Pacific Northwest. Now, you and I are both investors. We love owning real estate. You've got, I don't know, 4000 properties. I don’t know what you own. You've got a lot of real estate that you own. You're a big believer. I am, as well. Tell our guests, why do you think Seattle Pacific Northwest is the area to own property. What are some reasons, in your opinion, that it makes sense?
Enrique Jevons: Yeah, it definitely makes sense and, obviously, yes I am always purchasing. Right at the moment I happen to have 73 homes and apartments, but I've had up to over 200. So I've done things—I've partnered with other folks in the past. That 73 I own, those are currently ones that I personally own by myself without any partnerships. But I have partnered before. I've also repositioned and sold properties and so it just depends on, as the market has gotten really good, I've actually been more on a selling spree than buying spree.
But there is money to be made in either market going up or down. Seattle is a great area to buy in, as is the entire state of Washington. So the beautiful thing about Seattle, as is true of a lot of other cities—with San Francisco Bay Area, Portland others, you know, Austin, Texas—there's all sorts of cities throughout the United States that are booming and doing really well. So Seattle is one of the cities that is doing exceptionally well. Amazon has been on a huge hiring spree for many years now and continues hiring away like crazy. So thank you to everybody out there who is purchasing items on Amazon.com because that's benefiting myself indirectly and personally.
But because there's such a high demand, there's a couple of reasons to purchase rental properties. One is for cash flow. And certainly that's what's important for a lot of people is they want or need that immediate cash flow. And the secondary purpose is appreciation. And that's where cities that are doing exceptionally well like Seattle, appreciation is a huge play.
And it's a combination of both in many cases.
So the closer you get to the central nexus, the central hub of Seattle, of course, the property is going to be much more expensive. It's less likely it's going to cash flow; however, the appreciation is going to be there. However, when you buy the property, just because it doesn't cash flow today, doesn't mean it's not going to cash flow five years from now. And that's what I think a lot of people disregard or don't think bout is that, in the rental business, it's much more of a long-term play.
And so if you can purchase a property, add equity to the property by rehabbing it, repositioning it, getting those rents up and then you can refinance it to pull some of your money back out. It may not be cash flowing initially, but five years from now, as the market goes up, you're able to raise the rents appreciation goes up. Now it's going to cash flow. And it also makes it a great selling opportunity. So very much like flippers try and buy, rehab, sell within six months, well, I do a lot of the same, but I'm doing it in much slower pace, right? I'm buying, rehabbing, raising those rents, refinancing, but then also at that 5-10-year mark is when I'm also starting to sell properties.
Steve Rozenberg: So you are kind of doing a long-term flip. It’s like a simmer, I guess you could say. We'll call it a somersault. Not a flip maybe. But if you were to think of properties 30 years ago in the Seattle area, if you would have bought 10 properties in downtown Seattle 30 years ago, I think all of our lives would be different right now, right? It's safe to say. I grew up in Los Angeles. Same conversation.
The answer to me is that Seattle is a highly appreciating area. So you're not going to get the cash flow. You are going to get the appreciation, in general. And you and I both know, statistically, you don't normally get all of these. You don't get cash flow, equity capture, appreciation. You're only going to get a mixture of variation. Seattle right now is very much an appreciation play.
Enrique Jevons: Right, in the center core of Seattle. But the farther you get out, so you start getting an hour away, you actually can, today, purchase properties and they do cash flow.
Steve Rozenberg: Because you're in Yakima, you have a lot of properties in Yakima, right?
Enrique Jevons: Yeah, so I’ve got stuff in Yakima and that’s like two-and-a-half hours away from Seattle. And that is cash flowing day one. And it's appreciating so it's great. But it's more on the cash flow side. Also close to Seattle is the city of Tacoma. Tacoma stuff will cash flow day one and we're just talking about an hour drive south of Seattle. So there is stuff still. It starts to appreciate less but cash flow more the farther you get out, but, certainly, it's a combination of both. It's not an either-or. The other beautiful thing about Seattle and in some other major cities is that they have so many sources of income. So it's not just a one-business town. It’s not just Amazon. It’s not just Microsoft.
Steve Rozenberg: It’s stable. Different drivers coming in.
Enrique Jevons: Boeing is a huge employer. There’s a lot of little companies. But there’s also lost of shipping—huge shipyards with shipping coming in from China and such. And there's just so many other sources of income.
Steve Rozenberg: Tourism. You’ve obviously got a lot of tourism there so that’s stable.
Enrique Jevons: Tourism, yeah. And the cruise ship industry taking cruises to Alaska. Things like that. Yeah. So all those are things that you want to look for because that's going to be an indicator of how successful that city is going to be in the long run. And so, Seattle is one of those cities that has all of that.
Steve Rozenberg: That's great. So, Enrique if somebody wants to talk to you more about buying in Seattle or having Mynd manage their properties, how do they get ahold of you?
Enrique Jevons: Best way is going to be by email. So go ahead and pop off an email to me at Enrique.jevons@mynd.co. So it's e-n-r-i-q-u-e.j-e-v-o-n-s at m-y-n-d.c-o. Or just google it because—
Steve Rozenberg: —because he's famous.
Enrique Jevons: Yeah, you'll find me.
Steve Rozenberg: You'll find him. And for anybody that wants to know more about investing, I ask that you please join our Facebook investing group. It's called the Mastermynd Real Estate Investment Club on Facebook. People like Enrique and myself are actually on there, engaging and having conversations. We are investors just like you and we are in the “heat of battle.” We buy stuff. We deal with stuff. We are conversing and learning just like everyone else is.
Also, if you'd like, go to our website, mynd.co. M-Y-N-D.C-O and you can find out more information about us there and all the other markets that we service. I am Steve Rozenberg and Enrique, thank you so much today for being on the show. I appreciate it.
Enrique Jevons: Yeah, thank you very much. Really appreciate it.
Steve Rozenberg: All right. And we will talk to everyone later. Bye-bye.
Enrique Jevons: Thanks. Bye.
Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, overall, are an attractive region for both new and veteran investors. For those developed and more cosmopolitan areas such as the central core of Seattle, a purchased property may not provide an investor with much cash flow; however, the value of that property will inevitably appreciate over time. Likewise, in areas away from urban cores, such as Yakima, properties are likely to provide investors with cash flow immediately.
With so many major and minor companies in varying fields such as tech, shipping and tourism, the Pacific Northwest boasts a robust and stable economy that is great for anyone looking to jump into the investment game or simply expand their portfolio.
