Real Estate Investor · Annandale, VA · Member since 2013 · 12 posts · 1 vote
Hi all!
I'm active duty military, but I have roots in Texas and I'm interested in purchasing a few SFRs in the Woodlands/Spring/Conroe area. I'm hoping to connect with others in a similar boat as these will be my first investment properties and I'm still finding my feet.
Specifically, does anyone know of a good property manager in the area? I can always Google someone, but it's nice to get recommendations, and my realtor didn't have anyone in mind.
Investor · Houston, TX · Member since 2013 · 314 posts · 146 votes
13y
The major pitfalls here are property taxes and HOA's from what I can see. Mold is not a major issue as long as you keep your plumbing inspected, the flood plain maps are a constantly moving target, when you get an insurance quote for a property you are thinking about they will be able to tell you if you are in flood plain or not.
Developer · Garland, TX · Member since 2008 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
13y
Welcome to BiggerPockets, William. I believe Sam Craven lives in the Woodlands. He's posted recently about getting all lot of traction in the past year with the help of BP.
Lexington, KY · Member since 2009 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
13y
Welcome to BP William and thanks for your service! I just left active duty last summer. Good luck and let us know if you cannot find something you are looking for.
Houston, TX · Member since 2011 · 673 posts · 360 votes
13y
William Phillips i don't know of any property managers in the area but i do live here and help other investors find properties here.
Woodlands is a tough place to find buy and hold since the market is moving so quick, things really aren't going for a discount unless you are finding off market deals. I currently have 2 projects in the woodlands right now but both will be sold retail.
Real Estate Investor · Annandale, VA · Member since 2013 · 12 posts · 1 vote
13y
Sam,
To be clear, I'm looking in The Woodlands, Spring, or Tomball. Buy and hold w/positive cash flow is definitely what I'm looking for and my primary research tool up until now has been Zillow, but with 20% down I'm seeing properties here and there that look like a 15-20% cash on cash return (even with the high property taxes). Am I off base? Does that sound reasonable?
Houston, TX · Member since 2011 · 673 posts · 360 votes
13y
Will that's very reasonable. But if you go into spring/tomball you can get your hands on 30-40% CAC. And if you stay in the spring area i think with EXXON and others moving in, your appreciation will still be pretty impressive.
Real Estate Investor · Annandale, VA · Member since 2013 · 12 posts · 1 vote
13y
Anybody know of major pitfalls to watch out for specific to the Houston area? I was born there, but didn't grow up there. I'm familiar with the climate, but not sure if mold is a problem. Any other key environmental factors to worry about in the Spring/Woodlands/Tomball area (i.e. flood planes, etc)?
Investor · Houston, TX · Member since 2013 · 314 posts · 146 votes
13y
The major pitfalls here are property taxes and HOA's from what I can see. Mold is not a major issue as long as you keep your plumbing inspected, the flood plain maps are a constantly moving target, when you get an insurance quote for a property you are thinking about they will be able to tell you if you are in flood plain or not.
Investor · Tampa, FL · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
13y
My neighbors just moved to Katy last month however they were also strongly considering the Woodlands. Its a great area. IREM is your best resource for finding a reputable Property Manager. I would go as far as saying they're the only source I would ever use to find one. They're CPM's (Certified Property Managers) and know their stuff in and out. The charge as much as some guy off the street and yet they'll do a better job no doubt.
I do know a great agent who does huge volume in the Woodlands and comes across opportunities there all the time. Let me know if you'd like his information.
Investor · Cypress, TX · Member since 2013 · 403 posts · 59 votes
13y
Welcome to BP William and thank you for you're service. You have come to the right place to learn more about real estate. You will be addicted very soon. Let us know if you have any questions and good luck to you sir!
Spring, TX · Member since 2016 · 42 posts · 5 votes
10y
@William Phillips I am currently active duty with a majority of my family in the Spring, TX area. I am shifting my investment strategies to real estate and am looking to also begin my real estate journey in Spring, The Woodlands, Conroe. I am currently in the research phase and am learning the market as an investor. All of my family live in Spring so I think I have a good idea of the house values but am curious from a landlord perspective what your take is. Can you share your experience to date on if you own and if so what your returns look like and what you currently budget for total management of your properties? Also, would you be willing to share any leads on an agent who works with investors? Thanks for your service!
Investor · Conroe, TX · Member since 2015 · 21 posts · 6 votes
10y
@William Lunsford I'm in your market area myself and just connected for the first time with the group below. While the group name implies they're only about flipping they have a vast array of resources (including Realtors and property management types) for any REI. It was a very active group and I'm looking forward to working with them.
Real Estate Agent/Property Management · Houston, TX · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 827 votes
10y
@William Phillips I would be happy to discuss property management in the Woodlands if you'll send me a PM.
My one word of advice is to stick with homes that will rent in the $1200-$1600 range. This will limit you mostly to Spring, Conroe, and Tomball.
My experience is that once the rents go significantly north of $2000, it's like pulling teeth to get them rented. Most of the people who are interested, are usually looking for short-term rentals while they look for a home to buy. Now that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing if they were willing to pay a premium, but they usually are not.
Investor · Conroe, TX · Member since 2015 · 21 posts · 6 votes
10y
Hey, @William Lunsford I'm new to this myself so I really can't say one way or the other. The area in general is expecting a lot of growth. Exxon recently moved its world headquarters to just south of The Woodlands and there's a huge medical sector downtown and now north of the city. It has the advantage of sheer size and lots of people, meaning there's always something going on up or down. The cycles of the oil industry, for example. The area is so diverse there's a little bit of everything. The only con is that it's a pretty big haystack to dig through to find those needles.
Title Representative · Dallas, TX · Member since 2016 · 12 posts · 5 votes
10y
William,
Carl Dean with American Real Estate Investments can not only point you in the right direction for management, but he can also get you turnkey, cash flowing properties. I believe they refer most of their clients to OneProp, who I personally used in Dallas with my rental properties and had a great experience. I have also used OmniKey Realty but I think they only manage properties in Dallas/Fort Worth currently.
We live in The Woodlands, TX and would like to find an investor/flipper. Less than a 2 mile walk to Restaurant Row in Hughes Landing, concerts at Northshore Park and shopping along Market Street. Outside all new paint and roof. Can’t go through interior remodeling with our young children and no relatives nearby. Need to move soon. Any ideas? Ways to connect with a buyer?