My name is Marco Rimassa, and I was introduced to BP by a colleague who invests in real estate. My wife and I started our real estate journey by accident, moving from Houston proper out to Katy, and renting out our prior home. While rocky at first, this has settled into a nice single family buy and hold property for us on multi-year lease. We are also renting out a vacation home in the Austin area. In both cases, we use property management as this is not our primary occupation (yet!). Next we'd like to consider another single family or a multi-family unit in the Houston area for buy and hold, so I have started actively reading what BP offers there. However, before we do that, we want to get our legal infrastructure settled. Any fellow buy and hold investors have a good experience with a real estate attorney in the Katy/West Houston area?
Real Estate Broker · Tipton, IN · Member since 2014 · 436 posts · 39 votes
11y
First and foremost welcome to BP @Marco Rimassa! While it sounds like you have already experienced some success, I can say for anyone looking for additional information, tips, advice, etc, you are in the right place. Don't forget to checkout the BP Podcasts ( http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/category/p... ) are packed full of great info.
Investor · Spring, TX · Member since 2012 · 121 posts · 26 votes
11y
My wife and I created an LLC for our real estate through an attorney. We have had our LLC now for two years and It has worked out great for us. Call me or email me and I will share the attorneys contact info that we used.
First let me welcome you to BP also. I think you'll find BP to be the best RE investment you make even if all you invest is time (i.e. don't become a Pro subscriber).
While I am not a buy-and-hold investor, I have used a Katy area real estate attorney I met at Real estate Investors Club of Houston (RICH). His card is copied below.
I used him for a grazing lease I did for one of my vacant land parcels. We did everything by e-mail back and forth (except mailing him a check.) I sent him an e-mail with what I was looking for. He sent me back, same day, a quote (with a fairly narrow price range depending on a couple items). I accepted and asked him to go for it. He sent me back the document w/ one day turn around and a final cost at exactly the low end of his quote. He provided insightful tips, good value. As a side note, I asked him what would it cost, in addition, for him to record the agreement with the county. He provided a reasonable quote to do that but advised me of some (I thought) good reasons for not recording that agreement. I.e. he didn't simply take the additional fee opportunity and run with it. In the end, I did not recorded it (not even myself) based on his advice.
Welcome to Bigger Pockets! As a real estate investor for over 40 years I can attest that there has never been a more valuable resource available for the newbie or the initiated. I have made many mistakes in my life and if I or others on the site can help you avoid our mistakes our time will be well spent. All you need to do is read the blogs or post a question and the responses will be educating and gratifying.
Locate and attend 3 different local REIA club meetings great place to meet people gather resources and info. Here you will meet wholesalers who provide deals and all the cash buyers (rehabbers) you will need.
Download BP’s newest book here some good due diligence in Chapter 10. Real Estate Rewind Starting over
Thank you so much to everyone for the warm welcome and the great advice! My wife and I are plotting our next move already and all of the articles, podcasts, and commentary on this site - as well as the responses to this post - are very supportive. Knowledge is truly power to plan and to act!
Solo 401k Expert · Anaheim Hills, CA · Member since 2012 · 18k+ posts · 6k+ votes
11y
Welcome to BP community @Marco Rimassa It is a great place to meet new friends and learn about various aspects of real estate and more. Here are a few recommendations for you: