All Forum Posts by: Aaron Gordy

@Patrick Britton

I usually pay them. I have been in their shoes and struggled when I was in school. I will pay them fairly but I usually have to train them so the pay is below an experienced person. 

Hi Just wanted to share. Its for the Austin metro. Any thoughts about why it has increased 10% city wide for January 2017 as compared to January 2016. I have my opinions such as the constant influx of folks, low unemployment and supply outstripping demand but I am curious as to what other folks think. Thoughts? 

@Patrick Britton

I have found good folks through the local university and schools. I am fortunate to have a huge educational base to choose from with the University of Texas, Austin Community College, St Edwards and many real estate schools. Just put the word out. I have had luck through Craigslist, believe it or not but I had to do much more screening though. Reach out to the business school especially the marketing department. I think that you will be surprised. The unfortunate part though is that most folks will graduate and move on. Good luck!

@Loic Billiau

Bon jour, Loic. I am a real estate broker and property manager for investors in Austin, Texas that are for the majority, out of state. I can provide a bunch of references as well. 

In regards to saying that Austin is not a good cash flowing city, that is silly.  All my clients are cash flowing. I know because I see it in the monthly statements. 

Austin has been compared to an blue island within the red state. Austin is generally more liberal than the rest of the state. Nevertheless, its very landlord friendly. There are so many industries in the city besides being just a state capitol. The great thing about being the state capitol is that when the rest of the state is doing well all the tax money flows back into the city. So, if oil prices go sky high then that is great for the state tax coffers which employs many folks. There is stability there. Two, we have  the 7th largest university in the country with the University of Texas with a student enrollment of over 50,000. And UT is not cheap. There are many other smaller universities here too. I am not sure what the percentages are but I know that there are many that graduate from school and stay. I know as I am one that went to school and stayed. Its a fun and exciting city. Also, there is a huge technology, gaming, music industry and tourism industry here. 

One doesn't have to buy a property and go section 8. Why not buy a duplex in a good location that is desirable so that one doesn't necessarily have to go the Section 8 route? Don't get me wrong. I know many folks in the section 8 organizations as I deal with them every once in a while as I manage a condo that has a very good section 8 tenant there and there are very good well meaning folks in those organizations. One has to be selective in that group just as much as with anyone else. Its called fair housing for a reason. Sfr's will be difficult to cash flow though unless one puts down a substantial amount of cash. Duplexes cash flow, generally speaking.  

I do not know much about the other markets spoken of but I do know this city. I have seen many folks first hand make tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands with their real estate investments as passive investments with cash flow and eventual sale. The city has been booming since the 1800s'. Sure there have been blips but one should really analyze the data instead of going off hearsay. If one sees the data then one can the city has been doing very well over many decades. Its the most expensive large city within the state for a reason. Check out https://www.recenter.tamu.edu/data/employment/#!/m... data for good general comparisons

My property management fees are in line with the market. They range from 6% to 10% depending upon the difficulty, to be fair. Leasing fees are 80%-100% of one months rent depending upon the difficulty in leasing. 

If you haven't pulled the trigger by the summer time, my wife and I will be traveling to Paris and we would be more than happy to meet with you. My wife is also a realtor and runs a construction company here as well, btw.

My two cents. 

@David Faulkner

True true. It takes diligent work to find and make a home run of a deal through all the things that you mentioned. If I hit singles then I am okay. I would prefer to hit home runs and grand slams but that isn't always the case. I will take a single any day of the week. Singles have won many a game.  Heck, I will even take a walk. For example, if can get a good deal on a piece of property that doesn't require much work and it pencils out presently and historically with good microeconomics then I am there. "Conservatively, putting one in luck's path" is the best way to be. 

Thank you!

@Christopher Thompson

It depends upon price points. 78746 is good. 78758 is hot. Kyle is great! Cedar Park is good. Round Rock is doing well. It depends upon the area within the east side though. For example, 78702 appreciated by 7.9% in December. There are other areas that did not do as well. Its a big area. Also, it depends upon the holding time frame. If you are wanting to hold for a decade then I would suggest quality neighborhoods like Zilker Park/Barton Hills area. That area is always in high demand. Developers have been wanting to develop there in the primo areas for a very long time since the 70's or even earlier and they are always restrained from the city. 

I can send you the latest December or many months of stats from the Austin board of Realtors so that you can see it, if interested

@David Faulkner 

"I'm a total return guy ... I look at cash flow over the life of the investment (not just day 1, but over the life including average historical rate of rent increases) and appreciation over the life of the investment (not just next year or the year after, but over multi-decades, based on job and population growth, housing supply & demand statistics, and long term historical averages of price appreciation" 

I love that idea. It works very well historically and I utilize it as well. There are so many folks that come to me asking me how to become rich with real estate like flips and quick turns. Its much better to buy a good property that has historical numbers supporting it. Its much like looking at stocks and comparing how well each has done and looking at its 10 year history, like Benjamin Graham taught. For our purposes, is it better to buy a property that has historically good rent appreciation, price appreciation and low to little deferred maintenance vs a property that doesn't have the same performance all within a good microeconomic context? For that reason, its hard for me as a broker to advocate a brand new investment property that doesn't have numbers to support it. Thanks for sharing your ideas. Its refreshing to see it. I once met David Schumacher who advocated the same thing in Orange County. I am not sure if you have heard of him. He seemed like a really great guy and wrote several books about how he accumulated tremendous wealth by utilizing the same strategy in Orange County.  

Anyway thanks for sharing. And btw, Austin has excellent fundamentals!  

@Caroling Lee Feel free to contact me as well. I have been helping out investors for years. Thanks

@Account Closed

SFR's are tough to find that cash flow. No doubt. I have spent hours upon hours running numbers for hundreds of properties for cash flowing possibilities. Every once in awhile I find a diamond in the rough but its hard to find. What kills most deals are the taxes! The taxes are high. If the taxes do not kill the deal then the hoa will sometimes kill the deal. The cash flowing deals are out there for sfr's but its tough to find.

Duplexes and 4plexes are easier to cash flow. That is the job of your realtor to find those deals, btw. If you do not have realtor helping you then my hand is up, haha

San Jose is impossible to cash flow from, no doubt. The entire bay area is super tough to cash flow. My clients from the bay area are investing in the Austin metro area for that reason. 

@Melanie Campbell

Welcome to BP!!!