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All Forum Posts by: Andrew Neal

Andrew Neal has started 30 posts and replied 178 times.

Post: Anyone Buying Class-A Single Family Homes?

Andrew NealPosted
  • Real Estate Professional
  • Brentwood CA / Dallas, TX
  • Posts 185
  • Votes 146

@Omar Khan haha I was just telling someone we had a manufactured home in a "fancy" mobile home park listed for $299K in my town just a month or so ago, I should look up if and what it sold at. But yes it is hard not to get a distorted view at times. I have spent considerable time in Dallas and could definitely live there if it weren't for my awesome family here.

Post: Anyone Buying Class-A Single Family Homes?

Andrew NealPosted
  • Real Estate Professional
  • Brentwood CA / Dallas, TX
  • Posts 185
  • Votes 146

@Omar Khan some great points. I have family in the Wylie area and that place has exploded as well. I love how many great suburbs are within 45 minutes of Dallas. We are suffocated by the coast here which is why I think the A/B neighborhood play could work out there.

Post: Anyone Buying Class-A Single Family Homes?

Andrew NealPosted
  • Real Estate Professional
  • Brentwood CA / Dallas, TX
  • Posts 185
  • Votes 146

@Caleb Heimsoth I think that is part of my hang up. Living in California I have a tough time wrapping my head around a 60K house being something that wouldn't be in a bad neighborhood. I have really increased my out of state research in the past month and am connecting with realtors/project managers etc.

@Matthew McNeil Thanks for sharing. Are you buying in and around Boise? 

@Thomas S. I agree that most of the time those higher end big homes don't have favorable numbers. I think this question first came to mind in researching homes in my sister in law's Dallas suburb and knowing what they pay in rent (in the $2,500) range and seeing homes listed under $300K in that zip with a great school district. I have been the benefactor of appreciation only because my wife and I need a home to live in and happen to be in one of the hottest markets in the country. don't think I would go "all in" on it though.

Post: Anyone Buying Class-A Single Family Homes?

Andrew NealPosted
  • Real Estate Professional
  • Brentwood CA / Dallas, TX
  • Posts 185
  • Votes 146

@Martin L. glad that has been working out for you. I love that there are a million and one ways to invest and what works for one person doesn't necessarily mean it will for another.

I would have kept my last home however my wife and I made about 100k in appreciation in 2 years, sold it to get out of our FHA loan and there was no way it would have cash flowed with the FHA payment. We used the proceeds to buy the cheapest home in town with a conventional loan in the most desirable part of our town and put about $7K into rehab to raise the value about $30K (est.) before ever moving in. Moving in this weekend!

Post: Anyone Buying Class-A Single Family Homes?

Andrew NealPosted
  • Real Estate Professional
  • Brentwood CA / Dallas, TX
  • Posts 185
  • Votes 146
@Russell Brazil great insight and exactly what I was curious about. I’m fine to go the slow road and wouldn’t be “playing the appreciation” game so the tenant class and increase in cash flow is great. Appreciation is the added bonus but not the main goal. Thanks for sharing!

Post: Anyone Buying Class-A Single Family Homes?

Andrew NealPosted
  • Real Estate Professional
  • Brentwood CA / Dallas, TX
  • Posts 185
  • Votes 146
@Steve B. I suppose everyone’s definition of types of neighborhoods could be different. I was more curious about folks investing in nicer homes in general and not 50k homes in C-D neighborhoods since I don’t see much conversation about them. To me, a newer home may have fewer potential major surprises. I’m not saying new Home equals great neighborhood. We have plenty of neighborhoods filled with new homes in my market and I’d never live there. So I guess a better criteria is would my wife want to live here with our toddler? Haha

Post: Anyone Buying Class-A Single Family Homes?

Andrew NealPosted
  • Real Estate Professional
  • Brentwood CA / Dallas, TX
  • Posts 185
  • Votes 146

@Matt K. and @Tito Huynh I appreciate the insight. Very interesting discussion because like I said a lot of the posts on here focus on buying cheap houses with little to no money out of pocket.

I do like your point Matt about buying maybe a smaller home but still in the great school district. We see that out here in the Bay Area, I live out in the suburbs and there are hardly any rentals but because our schools are great if I ever wanted to rent my primary residence I could get a ton of great applicants in one weekend.

Matt we may need to go grab a beer soon and chat about KC.

Post: Anyone Buying Class-A Single Family Homes?

Andrew NealPosted
  • Real Estate Professional
  • Brentwood CA / Dallas, TX
  • Posts 185
  • Votes 146

@Matt K. very true, to me class B+ to A would mean built in the past 30 years or so, needing maybe some minor cosmetic updating and great schools. I see a lot of homes like this in some of the Dallas suburbs I was researching when my wife and I were considering moving out there.

Post: Anyone Buying Class-A Single Family Homes?

Andrew NealPosted
  • Real Estate Professional
  • Brentwood CA / Dallas, TX
  • Posts 185
  • Votes 146

Thanks @Tito Huynh yes I am mostly interested in out of state for obvious reasons. 

The 20-25% down payment on a Class-A home in other states isn't bad at all. Many markets consider $250-350K to be high which we would kill for out here haha.

Post: Anyone Buying Class-A Single Family Homes?

Andrew NealPosted
  • Real Estate Professional
  • Brentwood CA / Dallas, TX
  • Posts 185
  • Votes 146

I'm just curious as to who in here is buying more of the Class-A type single family rentals? After listening to the Tim Shiner episode it got me thinking. 

A lot of people talk of buying the 30-50K home in Memphis or wherever but what about a great Class-A neighborhood with a great school district etc. ? How do your numbers look? Are you playing the appreciation game or are you also seeing cashflow?