All Forum Posts by: Andy Webb
Andy Webb has started 21 posts and replied 736 times.
Post: NEED A SHARK BROKER IN TEXAS

- Rental Property Investor
- Carrollton, TX
- Posts 749
- Votes 538
@Laurence Obi - why Texas? And why Houston? Just curious what the draw is.
Post: Is it necessary to replace a Federal Pacific panel?

- Rental Property Investor
- Carrollton, TX
- Posts 749
- Votes 538
Flip or rental? If flipping, I would - it will come up on the buyer's inspection and could be a problem. If rental, ideally I would as well if the budget permits; if you hold the property and don't plan to replace, then have an electrician check it. If it is in a garage, less of an issue than if in a closet...panels in a closet may need to be flipped to the outside. If keeping as a rental, know that the breakers for the Federal Pacific are pretty darn expensive if you have to replace any.
Post: Funding my First Rental Property

- Rental Property Investor
- Carrollton, TX
- Posts 749
- Votes 538
@Paul Charles Bayliss - McAllen and "The Valley" are on fire - why not buy locally? Sorry, does not answer your question, but I would shop your area first.
To your question: you are going to want some reserves on hand - if you don't have the funds for the down payment, then you don't have the reserves...I would not take that property on.
Post: LA did it! Solved the California Housing Crisis!!

- Rental Property Investor
- Carrollton, TX
- Posts 749
- Votes 538
I saw that - ridiculous. Here in Texas we benefit thanks to you guys when we see the warnings on materials "known to cause cancer in California". I feel much better knowing my risks.
Post: Payment Options for Contractors Who Only Take Checks

- Rental Property Investor
- Carrollton, TX
- Posts 749
- Votes 538
You might check out Zelle - if both your banks offer the service. The transfer of funds with this service is immediate. Be very careful that you have the correct address/contact info for recipient - if you send money via Zelle to the wrong party, there is no recourse - you may not get it back. You contractor can actually request payment from you via Zelle, which will be more secure since you inherently have his account info at that point via the request. Zelle does not cost either party.
If you just need to fund the materials, can you have him get what he needs, say at Home Depot, and then have them call you for payment by CC? We have done that in the past with contractors. We cover materials, then pay for labor at the end or at periodic milestones.
Post: 2 Properties in Dallas for Comparison

- Rental Property Investor
- Carrollton, TX
- Posts 749
- Votes 538
You asked which is easier to rent - here I would go look at the lease comps and see what kind of Days on Market properties similar to the two you are reviewing show for their respective areas. If houses similar to House A in the same or close subdivisions are taking 60 days to lease, and houses similar to House B in its subdivision or vicinity are taking 15 days, then you have your answer.
Personally, I try to stay closer to 1500 sq ft with my rentals, and don't go over 2000 sq ft. Bigger house is going to take more money to maintain (e.g. tenant moves out, more rooms to clean, more paint to touch up or repaint, larger foot print in terms of roof, etc, generally speaking).
Post: Newbie from the very expensive and growing Northern Virginia

- Rental Property Investor
- Carrollton, TX
- Posts 749
- Votes 538
@Jake Barney - I would take a look at Texas; we still have great deals around the major metros. Or if you want something closer to home - Tennessee.
Post: Zillow Rental Manager

- Rental Property Investor
- Carrollton, TX
- Posts 749
- Votes 538
As a Realtor I usually list my own properties in my local MLS, which then automatically syndicates to a lot of other platforms, including Zillow, Trulia and Hotpads...of all the platforms, Zillow by far generates the most leads for me.
Curious if anyone knows what will happen to this MLS-->Zillow feed? I don't see them easily charging a bunch of agents for this autofeed. And it seems to me that Zillow will lose a big piece of their marketplace function for renters if they cut out the MLS feeds...If all those MLS listings drop from Zillow, they will become less relevant for renters...
Anyhow, still searching for an answer to this piece of the puzzle if anyone knows!
Post: Limit on BRRRR loans

- Rental Property Investor
- Carrollton, TX
- Posts 749
- Votes 538
50%! Even better...oh well, I am maxed out with Fannie/Freddie, so doesn't matter any more. Does 50% go for cash out refi's as well @Andrew Postell, or just rate-and-term?
Post: Limit on BRRRR loans

- Rental Property Investor
- Carrollton, TX
- Posts 749
- Votes 538
@Blake Hrabal - it will all come down to your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio and whatever DTI level your current lender will tolerate. If you are refinancing with the good ole Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loans (up to 10 in your name), then it is somewhere in the mid-30s (e.g. 35% or so) @Andrew Postell can probably tell you the precise number for FNMA.
If you have a decent income, sure, no problem, you can have a few properties going at once. I have managed that just fine in the past going through the refi on one rental while still in hard-money on another. My wife by comparison with her part-time income can just do one at a time. I can refi without a tenant in place (or could in the past...cut back at the dayjob, so not working too much anymore), but she has to have a signed lease showing there is a tenant so that the rental income offsets the new debt when she refis. So to your last question...again it will depend on your DTI.
If you are planning to add a flip to the mix, just run with a hard-money lender; they are not going to be too concerned with your DTI in that case; the asset backs the loan.
The best thing you can do if you have a refi or two coming up is to keep in constant contact with your lender and ask them if you are going to be in a tight spot before pulling the trigger on the next deal. I bug mine all the time...