Aspirations from Houston

Aspirations from Houston

Houston, TX · Member since 2014 · 7 posts · 1 vote

Hello all. My name is James Mills, and I am from Houston. When I first moved into the city from the suburbs about 5 years ago(I grew up in Clear Lake), I met a friend through a neighbor who had bought a fourplex and was living out of one and renting/managing the others. The idea fascinated me, and since then I try to keep in touch with the gentleman once in a blue moon to check on his progress. He has since opened a small restaurant in the greenway plaza area (he used to manage a small restaurant in downtown), and is in the market for his second fourplex. 

Fast forward 5 years. I stumbled across bigger pockets in May after finding out how decent my credit scores were (I'm in the low 700's) and looking into recreating a similar setup for myself. I began listening to the mutlifamily podcasts and started browsing various websites for real estate in Houston. 

My current status is very early in this entire scheme. I have modest/good credit, but low income, so I am hoping to find myself a duplex/triplex that I can utilize an FHA loan to get into. I recently started banking with USAA, due to my stepfather being a veteran, and have heard that they are incredibly helpful when inquiring about financial advice and planning for your future. My hope is to get with them and have them help me formulate a plan on how to best start socking away money towards a first home.

Would love to hear from other Houstonion multifamily owners on how to best tackle this aspiration of mine. I want someone paying my mortgage.

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Doug McLeodPro Member
Investor · Cypress, TX · Member since 2014 · 496 posts · 205 votes
12y

Welcome. I am with USAA also. Great service for banking and insurance, but their financial advice is likely to be fairly conventional: mutual funds, diversification, etc. You can likely afford the downpayment (3%) on a FHA loan already or with minimal savings, so if you can find a 2-4plex in an area you like at a below market price with enough cashflow to cover your mortgage and have some additional cash to enhance your savings toward more property, just start looking.

Check out Brandon Turner's blog on Hacking Your Housing and listen to the podcasts.

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  • Doug McLeodPro Member
    Investor · Cypress, TX · Member since 2014 · 496 posts · 205 votes
    12y

    Welcome. I am with USAA also. Great service for banking and insurance, but their financial advice is likely to be fairly conventional: mutual funds, diversification, etc. You can likely afford the downpayment (3%) on a FHA loan already or with minimal savings, so if you can find a 2-4plex in an area you like at a below market price with enough cashflow to cover your mortgage and have some additional cash to enhance your savings toward more property, just start looking.

    Check out Brandon Turner's blog on Hacking Your Housing and listen to the podcasts.

  • Investor · Arlington, VA · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 491 votes
    12y

    I currently bank with USAA. I love their services, but I would not recommend their advice on things considering R.E. investing. You can get most, if not all, of your questions answered here. I woud say that your head is in the right place. Obtaining a FHA loan @ 3.5% for a multi-family is one of the best deals in town.

  • Brandon TurnerPro Member
    Investor · Maui, HI · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    12y

    Hey @James Mills welcome to the site! Definitely start jumping into the community here! Be sure to read through The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Real Estate Investing to help you get started.

    You may also enjoy this post, about multifamily properties: How to Buy a Small MultiFamily Property: A Step by Step Case Study

    Finally -be sure to setup some keyword alerts - especially for "Houston" so you can jump into local conversations.

    See you around the forums!

  • Houston, TX · Member since 2014 · 7 posts · 1 vote
    12y

    Thanks, Guys! I have listened to a handful of the podcasts on multifamily, and now need to get into some heavier reading and more financial planning, to put myself into an actual position to do any of this.

  • Investor · Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    12y

    @james 

    @James Mills sounds like it's time to start building a team (assuming you know how to underwrite deals already). I'd reach out to some Houston people on here and also attend some local REI meetings.

  • Houston, TX · Member since 2014 · 7 posts · 1 vote
    12y

    @Joe Fairless 

    I don't know anything about underwriting, currently. I have heard about the local RICH club, but may look into something someone less formal for initial networking, as I am not yet in a position where membership fees wouldn't slow my startup progress.

  • Hanford, CA · Member since 2013 · 5k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    12y

    Welcome to Biggerpocket!

    This is a great place to grow and learn. It is important to me to self manage the houses and the areas that a white, red head,women with no foreign skills other than english and german are hard to find multi-plex. WE have done well with single family. We invest in primary and turn them into rentals. We have the benefit of moving a lot due to my husband being Navy. So we have turned a transient career into a good thing! We also buy pure rentals on the side.

    Definitly check out the blogs,podcast and forums. Another great source of information is individual blogs found in peoples signatures. Many of us including myself right about our niche. The one thing we all agree about is investing in Real Estate beyond us we have many different style and modes of investing. My blog/website is about long distance self management, landlording, investing in class A investments, investing in a transient lifestyle, etc.

  • Dave VisayaPro Member
    Moderator
    Audio Engineer and Investor · Cebu City, Cebu · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 881 votes
    12y

    Hey @James Mills welcome to BiggerPockets! It is great to have you and please feel free to jump in the community - there are certainly great people around here!

    BiggerPockets
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