Hello BiggerPockets! New PRO here

[Seth Ellis]

Hey everyone ,

My name is Seth, and I’m excited to officially join the BiggerPockets community.

I’m based in Houston, TX and currently getting started in real estate investing. I own my first property (single-family rental) and am focused on continuing to build my foundation the right way.

My current interests & strategy:

• Buy & Hold (single-family)

• BRRRR strategy

• Value-add opportunities

• Learning how to properly analyze deals, rehab scope, and cash flow

Target areas:

• Northwest Houston

• Cypress

• Missouri City

Right now, my main goals are:

• Sharpening my deal analysis skills

• Learning from experienced investors (especially mistakes you wish you avoided early on)

• Building solid systems around financing, rehab planning, and property management

I’m here to learn, contribute, and connect—not just lurk. If you’re investing in Houston or nearby markets, I’d love to follow along with your journey or connect.

Looking forward to learning from everyone here. Appreciate any advice you’re willing to share with someone early in the process.

Thanks,
Seth

[Drew Sygit]

@Seth Ellis

How much do you know about Property Classes?

Recommend you spend some time learning about them, so you don’t mistakenly buy a property that will NEVER meet your expectations!

Why is Property Class so important for investors to understand and apply in their investing strategies?

Because the Property Class dictates the Class of the tenant pool that the property will attract.

The Tenant Class greatly impacts rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.

Both Property Class and Tenant Class will affect what type of contractors, handymen and property management companies you should target and be willing to deal with a property.

The Property Class will also impact the maintenance & renovations you do to, “Maintain to the Neighborhood”.

Why is that important?

Well, if you buy & renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what Tenant Class will actually rent it?

Or, if you put several Class D tenants in a Class A four-plex, what do you think will happen to the property?

So, if you fail to apply the correct assumptions to a property, your expectations won’t be met, and it may even be a financial disaster.

We use the following to rank Property Classes, in order of importance:

• Property Tenant Pool: closely linked to location, but not always.
• Property Location: closely linked to tenant pool, but not always.
• Property Condition & Amenities: it’s important to, “Maintain to the Neighborhood.”

Key metrics for each Property Class:

Class A Properties:
Tenant Pool: Majority of FICO scores 680+, no convictions/evictions in last 7 years.
Tenant Default: 0-5% probability of eviction or early lease termination.
Section 8: Class A rents are too high and won’t be approved.
Vacancies: 5-10%, depending on market conditions.
Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, 3-5 years for positive cashflow, but you get highest relative rent & value appreciation.

Class B Properties:
Tenant Pool: Majority of FICO scores 620-680, some blemishes, no convictions/evictions in last 5 years.
Tenant Default: 5-10% probability of eviction or early lease termination.
Vacancies: 10-15%, depending on market conditions.
Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, 1-3 years for positive cashflow, balanced amounts of relative rent & value appreciation.
Section 8: Class B rents are usually too high for the Section 8 program.

Class C Properties:
Tenant Pool: Majority of FICO scores 560-620, many blemishes, but should have no convictions/evictions in last 3 years. Verifying recent 2-years of rental history very important! Same for 2-years of job/income stability.
Tenant Default: 10-20% probability of eviction or early lease termination.
Section 8: Class C rents usually meet program requirements, proper screening still recommended.
Vacancies: 10-20%, depending on market conditions and tenant screening.
Cashflow vs Appreciation: Should cashflow immediately, at the lower end of relative rent & value appreciation.

Class D Properties:
Tenant Pool: Majority of FICO scores under 560, little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, but should have no convictions/evictions in last 12 months. Verifying last 2-years of rental history and income/employment extremely important to find the “best of the worst”.
Tenant Default: 20-30% probability of eviction or early lease termination.
Section 8: Class D rents meet program requirements, often challenges to pass Section 8 inspection.
Vacancies: 20%+, depending on market conditions and tenant screening.
Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciation.

Where did we get our FICO credit score information from?

Check out this chart:

FICO Score	Pct of Population	Default Probability
800 or more	13.00%	1.00%
750-799	27.00%	1.00%
700-749	18.00%	4.40%
650-699	15.00%	8.90%
600-649	12.00%	15.80%
550-599	8.00%	22.50%
500-549	5.00%	28.40%
Less than 499	2.00%	41.00%

Source: Fair Isaac Company

Make sure you understand the Class of properties you are looking at and the corresponding results to expect.

Horror Stories from those that did NOT Understand What they were Buying:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1137397-baltimore-a-path-to-never-ending-pain

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/432/topics/1231840-sell-at-a-loss-or-rent-at-a-loss

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/840134-memphis-turnkey-tenant-turnover-costs

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/963/topics/1195280-experience-of-oos-investing-in-cleveland-after-15-years