I’m an out of state investor from California and I’m looking to get into the Texas market. The markets I’m considering are Austin, Houston, Dallas/ Fort Worth and San Antonio. I’m looking for recommendations for a solid agent and property manager. No self promotion please. Thanks in advance for your help
Well I'm looking for a property that I can turn into a STR in Austin because eventually that's where I'm considering moving to from California so the ideal is to lock something in and just Airbnb it until I can sell my property and business in California. And I'm looking for value add opportunities that are 2-4 units. Then maybe a commercial property once I'm completely moved out of California. I don't want anything in a war zone and has to be in an area where families want to move to and also cash flows.
Well I'm looking for a property that I can turn into a STR in Austin because eventually that's where I'm considering moving to from California so the ideal is to lock something in and just Airbnb it until I can sell my property and business in California. And I'm looking for value add opportunities that are 2-4 units. Then maybe a commercial property once I'm completely moved out of California. I don't want anything in a war zone and has to be in an area where families want to move to and also cash flows.
Hey Amran, I have had rentals in 3 out of those 4 areas (not Houston) in TX since 2006 and have had some good experiences with agents and mgrs in each of them. I'm happy to share my experiences and contacts in any of those markets, if you're interested. I have nothing to gain and don't get anything from referring anyone. FYI - you have to check into the str market in Austin at the moment. They moved to ban all new Type 2 (non-owner occupied sfr's in residential districts) by last year. There were at least 1 lawsuit against that, but I'm not sure if that resolved yet, so, they may not be issuing any new str licenses for non-owner occupied sfr's in residential districts. I just switched my condo back to a ltr, since my str was making significantly less than what I could get as an ltr. As of 9/2022, Per city of Austin, there were around 11,000 str advertisements, but 1,975 active str licenses. So, basically, a lot of illegal str's which they are cracking down on.
@Amran Musaid I would recommend @Kyle Mccaw for property management in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Kyle and his team at McCaw Property Management manages all my rentals here for many years now. They are great to work with. Also, their make ready for any property condition is the most competitive I have found here. Hope this helps.
Even if someone give you a referral, don’t make the mistake of assuming that PMC will meet your expectations, just because they met the expectations of the referral source.
We also can’t believe how many owners hire the first PMC they speak with!
Then they complain their expectations aren’t being met!
In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make when selecting a Property Management Company (PMC) is ASSUMING instead of CONFIRMING.
It's often a case of not doing enough research, as they don't know what they don't know!
Owners mistakenly ASSUME all PMCs offer the exact SAME SERVICES and PERFORM those services EXACTLY THE SAME WAY, so price is the only differentiator – and they often select the first PMC they call!
So, the first question they usually ask a PMC is about fees - instead of asking about services and HOW those services are executed.
EXAMPLE: PMC states they will handle tenant screening – what does that specifically mean? What documents do they require, what credit scores do they allow, how do they verify previous rental history, etc.? You’d be shocked by how little actual screening many PMC’s do!
This also leads owners to ASSUME simpler is better when it comes to management contracts.
The reality is the opposite - if it's not in writing then the PMC doesn't have to provide the service or can charge extra for it!
We have a 14-page management contract that we've added our real experiences to over the years, with the intent of protecting both us AND the landlord. Beyond the Monthly Management, Placement & Maintenance fees, all other fees in our contract are IF EVENT -> THEN fees.
We don’t know any PMCs to recommend in the area mentioned, but since selecting the wrong PMC is usually more harmful than selecting a bad tenant, you might want to read our series about “How to Screen a PMC Better than a Tenant”:
We recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.
EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!
P.S. If you just hire the cheapest or first PMC you speak with and it turns into a bad experience, please don’t assume ALL PMC’s are bad and start trashing PMC’s in general. Take ownership of your mistake and learn to do the proper due diligence recommended above😊
Please send us any feedback via email, as we do not use the DM feature here.
Also, if you like our response, please don’t be shy about giving us a vote😊
The idea behind my post was to get some recommendations then use that as starting point and investigate further. Thank you for your feedback as always.
Logical Property Management4.9465 Reviews