All Forum Posts by: Brian Mathews

I get up there on occasion and my one impression of Temple is that overall it needs updating.   Most of the town is older.   I'm guessing there really hasn't been a large population surge to warrant a lot of newer homes like there has been in Killeen.  I lived there many years ago and aside from a few larger strip centers along the interstate.   It looks the same.  

Entry level properties such as this won't give you entry level issues.   Your issues will likely be greater than issues you will encounter in higher priced properties.   The tenants and maintenance will likely eat up a lot of your time and money.  I know Killeen has some crappy areas,  but didn't know it had anything that cheap.  

I would probably find a builder.   They might have a relationship with somebody to help you out.   What part of town is it in?

The problem could be that you don't own them yet and they may know that.   Lots of people want information that never follow through.  I get lots of tire kickers.   They aren't going to mess with you until you own them and need them.  

 I did a call on that house because the furnace wasn't working.   How funny.   It has a pool in the backyard that will need some love,  they had it covered up with boards  The 4th bedroom is a converted garage.    That neighborhood isn't bad, but a little on the rougher side as it is older.  Fannie Mae house as I recall.  

I'd plan on 15-20% of rent to be safe.   10% @ $140 a month isn't enough.   Keep $5000 in the bank just for the house for repairs and you'll be safe. 

Not sure you can find a 3 or 4 plex for that price range in Austin that is very safe   Especially in central Austin.    You might be able to find a duplex. 

 Its all nice since he's still alive and living there, once the inevitable happens, hopefully they have the sense enough to take it down.   Aside from it being kinda creepy once he's gone, you should remove the previous tenants stuff no matter why they left the property.   If they choose to leave it there as their prerogative as owners of the property, then they have to deal with the consequences of future tenants or lack thereof. 

You sound like you're pretty new to this.   Most people who have a lot of experience can estimate pretty closely without the aid of a contractor.   First thing is to ignore those people on here who think that contractors should do things for free for you for the honor of possibly getting a job from you.    Good contractors are not desperate for jobs because they having jobs going because they are good contractors,  those who do not have jobs and have time to fly around town looking at jobs for free are typically not ones you would want to hire, there are rare exceptions.   After you run one of these free contractors around town a few times looking at jobs,   they will figure it out and quit coming as well.  I would offer the contractor something to come out and look, going rates are different everywhere.   I'd expect to pay $150-$300 for somebody to come take a look at your potential job.   15 minutes to look at a job is absurd to do it right, but they won't be doing a full on inspection like an inspector will, so somewhere in that time frame and dollar amount would be appropriate.  

So you are expecting the contractor to take 15 minutes to evaluate how much something will cost to fix?  Not sure that is possible, but ok.    And you are wanting them to come out to a job that you are considering wholesaling to a potential buyer or more if one does want the deal.  Therefore possibly requiring the contractor to come out again for free for your next hopeful buyer that he doesn't know from Adam and you are going to refer this contractor to this unknown buyer and hopefully they will hire him.    Knowing full well that the house you will be wholesaling will most likely be a flip and the buyer if they do this will have their own contractor to do work.    Good luck with that.   I like the comment about a contractor that charges for his time can't be any good and will be too expensive for your job.   Maybe he's so good that he is busy doing other jobs and doesn't want his time wasted by a person that likely will not hire him or have the power to hire him.   I'm an hvac contractor and can smell a rat.    I would not waste my time doing free calls hoping I might get a job out of it and I don't. 

I would invest something in a 529 or ESA and invest in real estate if you want.   What happens if you lose all your real estate in the next 16 years due to illness, lawsuit, etc....    Then your kids don't have anything to help them go to college and take out student loans leaving them in debt, which is  what I'm assuming you are trying to avoid.   I don't know of a parent that doesn't want their kids to have it better than them.  It's true we don't know what the education system will be in 16 years and any overhauls, but we don't know what anything will be in 16 years.    Maybe you kids want to be in real estate, maybe they will hate it.   If they don't go to college, then give them the money to do with it as they wish it will be their taxes to pay at that time and they can plan appropriately.