San Antonio WINNER! (buy and SELL)
Currently i'm on a buy and SELL mode. not a buy/hold mode of investing.
I recently closed on my 4th sale in my portfolio. I'm not a believer of "buy/hold" forever and after reading the 80/20 principle, Sales and Marketing by Perry Marshall - I applied the 80/20 principle by selling underperforming, cash flowing properties in mostly in texas and market peaking property in California.
I sold my california town home (bought for $526K at the near peak at 2005 and sold it for $506K in 2015). Due to tenant paying down the principle significantly, I got some equity back at the time of sale.
I sold 1 houston property for a very modest gain in 2016. (purchase price 100K and sold it for 120K)
then sold 1 memphis property for a loss (purchase price 116K and sold it for 128K) but because so many repair costs and credits to the buyer turned out to be around $8000 overall loss, not gain.
My latest sale is a WINNER: San Antonio has greatly appreciated! My cash flow was not great so I decided to sell
Purchase price $126K in 4/2015. Just sold it for $180K in 7/2017!
I have to give a shout out to my AMAZING listing agent Brenda Machen (San Antonio). Absolutely BEST listing agent EVER.
My biggest gripe about agents is that they seem to fail at the sale price (whether at buying or selling). They(agents) seem to be motivated how fast they can close a deal with price a secondary goal. For investors, selling a property is the MOST important step in the profits. I made way more on appreciation than miniscule cash flow ($100-200/month on average due to repair costs, turnover etc.)
Brenda was able to sell my san antonio property for at least $10,000 more than the highest price I could expect for this home. Also, during the last 2 weeks of escrow, I was away for 2 weeks outside of the country on a big vacation with the family, she handled everything expertly without bothering me which so considerate and professional. She had fantastic insights and advice but never pushy thru the whole process. I wish she was in every city I sell properties.
If anyone is looking for a listing agent in San Antonio - go check out Brenda Machen in San Antonio!
Lastly, I'm in escrow to sell my 2nd houston property which has been a rough ride but thankful that it's almost sold.
Summary:
5 total homes sold - 3 texas, 1 california, 1 memphis during the 2015-2017 years. Still holding on to my best holdings with great cash flow-7 properties scattered in several states (Chicago, Indy, Memphis, Atlanta).
Lastly, I did not do a 1031...but still paid no taxes on any gains due to being able to pool all my depreciation losses that carried over from year to year unused and applied to offset the gains in the sales of these properties.