All Forum Posts by: Aaron Gordy

Do you have any preferences in terms of rental types of properties? SFH, Condos, duplexes, multifamily, retail, etc?

@Jake Soteros outside austin texas area? if so hmu

Austin has been very good to me. I can't complain too much. If my pockets are getting bigger then what right do I really have to complain, especially on this forum. Sure the weather sucks this time of year but take a break and go swimming at the numerous pools, lakes, natural springs all over the region. Sip some Tequila from Tito's too (made locally) or any of the other very good local beverages while  enjoying yourself, but not too much. The rest of the seasons are magical and its fantastic weather to be outside especially the fall, most of the winter and spring. 

My biggest complaint is dealing with the metro politics and getting things done. But that obstacle is a constraint on building which is a supply limiting element and is a blessing for prices. If the city opened up the spigot then the supply/demand ratio would change a bit. 

Austin metro is growing for a reason and has been growing since its very beginning. Its a job creating machine and it has had its cool factor dating all the way to Janis Joplin's heyday here attracting among others, eccentric entrepreneurs such as Elon Musk. 

I don't mind. I have a neighbor that runs one (its illegal according to the city) in my neighborhood. Its not harming me or the neighbors. No harm no foul. Govt needs to stop meddling in free enterprise. I have personally stayed in great neighborhoods that had str's. I once stayed in The Treme' neighborhood in New Orleans in a house that would now be considered an illegal operation. It was a very good experience as I was able to listen to jazz musicians practicing from the balcony.  If I had stayed in a hotel in the french quarter, I would not have been able to really understand the great history and current dynamics of The Treme'  neighborhood. 

Just another reason to be careful when thinking about str investments. Its great for the hotels as the supply decreases and you can bet that those players have big money lobbying for these changes. At the property level, its best to have alternative ways to make a property work.

Talk to an attorney that is in this niche. He may be able to see ways to make this work. 

@Russell Brazil Its hard to tell sometimes what is a bedroom or not. I operate on the side of caution and tell my agents to do the same.

Let's take for example, garage conversions. Technically, from what I understand is that if it doesn't have a defined closet then its not a room. I have seen some jacked up "closets" in a garage conversion to a living space. Is that a room? To the person living in that room, it is a room. 

To the broker or agent...well maybe it is or maybe its not...depending upon your definition of a space that has a rough "closet" with a curtain rod and sheets drawn around it. It can distort the price per sq ft analysis though. I have seen this sorta thing in an appraisal and I had to call it out. And also there is a matter of whether or not permits were issued for that space conversion. 

I don't dwell on it and I haven't heard other realtors complain about it. I have heard chuckles but not complaints. 

@Eliott Elias @Greg H. Come on fellas. Much respect to both of you but this is not the forum for rooster struttin. Take that nonsense out to the streets where it belongs... : ) I am a boxing fan so let me know if that happens. But I betcha that the Spence vs Crawford will be much more entertaining. I am betting on Spence since he rep's Texas. 

85% of the Texas population live in the Texas Triangle, DFW, San Antonio and Houston. Austin is in the middle on one part of it. Austin metro is growing rapidly. According to this news piece 
https://www.bizjournals.com/au...

a new town will be developed just north of Jarrell. That is big news and will be interesting to see how it plays out. If you look at the map it will probably be in my lifetime that San Antonio to Waco will be one big development. Fascinating!! 

On the surface it will be hard to cash flow on a single family residential (?) in Barton Hills area when one has a low loan to value given the VA loan. The rent will go up quite a bit over time, probably since that is a high demand area. The catch is the property taxes will also go up. The only way to really do it is some creative leasing such as rent per room or mtr and focus on the expenses like a hawk and contest the property taxes every year. Over time that works. To say that sfh rentals doesn't cash flow in Austin is not true. In other locations the price/rent ratio is a better balanced.

Demography is very interesting and can be quite telling.