Page 11 - Venture - State of the Market 2020

What was some of the inspiration behind
some of your first real estate purchases?
My husband Joe and I were young and
we were willing to work hard. In 1965
we bought our first home and in 1970
upgraded to a fixer upper with 9 acres in
Sammamish. We moved the August of
1970 with our three young sons and soon
found the wall heat had no heaters behind
the grills and the back acreage had been
used as a garbage dump! I raised 3 beef
and many chickens before we decided
to subdivide and build our dream home
in 1975. When Joe died in 1981, I settled
in to raise my family and keep my invest-
ment in the Sammamish land. I knew the
land in Sammamish was only going to rise
in value and I was content to be patient
and wait for it.
Any interesting or adventurous stories in your
investment purchases you’d like to share?
Besides our home and our land in Sam-
mamish, we invested in a few more things.
Joe was a master Brickmason and could
visualize all our projects before they
were even started. I just stood back and
agreed!! We invested in 2 homes to fix up
and sell, 3 homes to move and remodel to
sell/rent, and 3 moorage slips in Bellevue
and Annacortes. We bought property in
Redmond on Avondale Road, and actually
moved the house up the hill to the top
of Union Hill, subdivided the land and
built three duplexes or six townhouses.
When Joe died these rentals saved me
financially. I was able to raise the boys
and keep all my investments. I met Andy
in 2013 and he along with his real estate
firm helped me sell the duplexes. My plan
was to sell all three at the same time and
reinvest. Andy made this happen with
three different buyers closing on the same
day, and then offered me opportunities to
reinvest some of my gains.
What are the most valuable lessons you’ve
learned throughout your real estate investing
career?
I want all my decisions to be good for me
and good for my community. I always
remember to stop and think and I always
pray about it -- I can use all the help.
Surround yourself with good people is
my best advice. Don’t be put off by the
professionals -- get to know them. The
good ones will be partners in your busi-
ness dealings. Trust yourself to know and
follow through.
Is there anything you would do differently
looking back now?
In thinking about my investments, I would
have kept one of the slips in Skyline near
Annacortes. Can’t got wrong with a little
piece of salt water! At the time there was
no upkeep and a very high demand. I
was newly widowed and I really didn’t
seek any advice before I sold.
Why did you choose to invest in Multifamily
in the Puget Sound multifamily market?
Our goal when we designed and built
the three brick duplexes in Redmond was
to generate some rental income. The
duplexes were all townhouse style 3
bedroom, 3 bath, dining room and small
individual outside yards. It was 1978 and
rentals were scarce in Redmond so we
were ahead of the curve without even
knowing it. We wanted to provide a home
for a family. I still believe in multifamily
homes. Times have changed and the
need is even greater.
VENTURE | 2020 STATE OF THE MARKET 9
VENTURE | 2020 S T A TE OF THE MARKET 9