All Forum Posts by: Adam D Rinehart

@Noble Willis I didn’t pursue it. Upon further re ire of the IRS code it looks like the program is for primary residence refinances

@Alf Holst unfortunately the A and B class neighborhoods in the Houston area either don’t rent out at 1% or don’t cash flow using the 1% rule, primarily due to our high property taxes. Unless you put a significant amount down of course...

@Mason Hall what’s the worst thing that could happen if you “fail miserably”? I’m being serious. Post the worst possible outcome that could happen if you bought an investment property. Odds are the financial implications pale in comparison to the damage your ego will sustain based on a fear of failure coming to fruition. This is called a self fulfilling prophesy.

@James Wise I haven’t seen this level of dark humor since the original TuckerMax.com forum posts, and for that, I thank you.

@Mason Hall how many offer have you made in the 5 months since you “started”?

Originally posted by @Mark Sewell:

These are cash buyers by zip code (taken from ListSource).  

Son of a....No wonder I've been seeing so many bandit signs on my drive home and getting texts/voicemails randomly inquiring about buying "my property".

59 and Grand Parkway is the Valley Ranch development, 45 and Grand Parkway is for all intents and purposes The Woodlands, which I don't think anyone would consider the path of progress if you're familiar with Houston. Now if you keep heading north on 45 I think you can make a strong argument for Conroe. As for Valley Ranch, I work on that development and I'd hardly consider it investor friendly due to all the new home construction, you're buying at retail prices and getting saddled with all the high MUD taxes that come with new developments. I'd consider the older areas west of Lake Houston (Huffman) as investor friendly for rentals and flips with all the new construction happening in the area. 

But personally, I view the 290 corridor as where the most rapid growth is poised to happen. TXDOT has recently finished major improvements to 290 and development keeps heading NW into Waller County. Waller County is currently much more rural than Harris County (as a whole) and does not yet have as comprehensive of development regulations, especially when it comes to drainage and floodplain issues. Once you get more companies like Daikan (https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2018/01/26/daikin-to-hire-2-000-more-people-for-houston-area.html) that bring thousands of manufacturing jobs to the area and Texas A&M investing more money into their University system in Prairie View (http://www.pvamu.edu/blog/70-million-engineering-building-coming-to-pvamu-amid-rising-enrollment/) you start to see that all the indicators are there for future growth. 

A very similar scenario is happening in Montgomery County now that the northern segments of the Grand Parkway have opened up a lot of land for new development. These areas are close enough to the Woodlands and Houston to give people a lot of options in regards to employment options, community amenities, good schools, and easy access to IAH with a unique mix of suburban and rural lifestyles.

I've lived in Houston pretty much all my life except for college and shortly thereafter. Investing where you know is the path I started with, it just happened to be the 4th largest city in the U.S. The BRRRR strategy has worked for me thus far in 5th Ward and Prairie View, TX. 5th Ward is gentrifying with new construction. The area is seeing double digit property value increases YOY and are rents following a similar trend. I've found that prices are still low enough in numerous areas inside the City Limits that the barriers to entry are very low as opposed to the surrounding suburbs or cities like Austin.

Outside of the inherited tenants I got with my duplex, all of "my" tenants I've required them to register with Cozy.co. The inherited tenants lease didn't have language regarding that, but I did get them to start paying by Zelle instead of money orders I had to pick up. But back to Cozy.co, it does all the tenant background and credit screening, at their expense, allows them to input their account bank information and give permission for the bank I designate as the recipient account to make ACH withdraws on the agreed upon schedule per the lease. The site also accepts credit card payments, so if they're short or switch accounts before the ACH can be confirmed, they can still pay online and the processing fees are paid by them, not me. What I like best is that ANYONE can use a credit card to pay the rent due if they are given the property link. This is handy to have for cosigners or references applicants provide as I can just send it to them saying so and so is behind on rent, please contact them or use the link below to resolve the delinquent amount by credit card. As a 3rd option fall back, I also have Venmo and Zelle for peer to peer direct payments that aren't able to be disputed like paypal. All of these don't require me to physically chase rent and create an electronic record of the transaction, and attempts to collect, in the event there is a dispute or eviction lawsuit.

The lease term(s) is the realtor conveying that anything over a year would be long term but that many lease options are available and that voucher holders are welcome to apply. But mainly yes, if the tenant pays on time and follows the lease, i.e. a good tenant, I am very easy to get along with. If someone signs a 2 year lease and wants to paint their daughters room pink, I'm willing to allow that because it shows me they want to make the house their home. This would be a no for someone wanting a 6 month lease or month to month. If they get paid bi-weekly or 2x a month, I'm open to split rent payments if it means less financial stress for them and more likelihood of the rent being paid in full every month. If their car note, utilities, credit card, and rent are all due on the first and rent eats up most of their first paycheck there's a good chance I'll get ghosted til next payday anyway since they need their car to get to work, utilities paid to keep them on, credit card for day to day expenditures, but my house isn't going anywhere and evictions take time. 

The pre-screen questionnaire asks what animals they have, not just pets. My lease has language disallows fish tanks over a certain size. Dogs are subject to approval based on insurance requirements. No livestock is allowed (sorry chickens). Cats are based on whether or not I've got personal property in the house (i.e. upholstered furniture that Garfield would love as a scratching post) or if the unit currently has carpet in it. If the owners can show the cat is declawed, I might consider it. Cat piss smell never comes out if allowed to sit long enough and soak through the carpet, pad and into the concrete. Other pets, like a turtle, that are predominantly in a cage and won't feasibly cause damage are fine. It's mainly large dogs being large logs that I'm trying to mitigate for.