Next step in Texas...

[Bill Williams]

Hi All!

This is my first post. I have been in small time REI since the mid 90's. Bought a duplex and moved into one side. It was good first investment. It helped me build credit, equity, get depreciation on half the duplex, and the appreciation has been nice. Since then I've been able to pay it off free and clear.

My family also built up RE investments since the 70's. My parents were great at recognizing value and taking deals others didn't want and investing during the lows of the cycles, especially back in the late 80's. We are mostly in houses, duplexes and fourplexes. I am now starting to take a more active role in the business. I am a CPA which gives me good general business background. I am really trying to get up to speed...reading various REI books, been to conferences, visiting RE web sites, and working on developing my mindset as RE investor. Bigger Pockets has some outstanding people contributing and I appreciate your help through all the posts.

My short-term strategy had been to look for investments within my local area because it’s the one I understand the most. While interested in small deals we are also interested in getting into some bigger properties. We were in the running for a multi-duplex deal but the owner simply wanted too much (125% of tax appraisal) and we walked away.

CA money has been flooding my local area over the last few years, which has driven up prices while rents have not kept pace. Many investors don’t care if it doesn’t cash flow…just looking for appreciation to flip in a couple years. I know personally of CA investors who bought properties 12 months ago which are now in foreclosure. A friend who is more involved in commercial RE says there is too much liquidity in the market and is more focused on investing the hospitality industry for better cap rates.

I do believe you can make money whether the market is going up or down…just have to be selective and pass on the properties that don’t meet your criteria. Anyway, we have $ parked on the side patiently waiting for the right opportunities. I think we need to cast our net further out and have started looking into small multi-unit complexes in other parts of Texas. This will be a big step. What do you think? Any thoughts or opinions on the the Texas market and how it compares to other parts of the country. I would appreciate any advice!

Thanks!