All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

@Emily Powell I have 7 SFRs in Houston and luckily none of them flooded. Only one is in a partial flood zone and had the required flood insurance (and the neighborhood did not flood at all, plus the house is across the street from a man-made lake!). However, this was a wake-up call and I'm getting flood insurance on the other 6 and on all going forward. I make a habit of checking if a house is in a flood zone before I buy, but as everyone has mentioned, even the FEMA maps aren't reliable.

@Brant Jones I used a TX attorney to form the series LLC in Texas. My CPA is actually based in NYC (where I lived before SF) and is very familiar with real estate taxes from state to state.

@Jay Hinrichs you are correct Texas has very high property taxes, but I'm finding deals in outlying areas of Houston that are still commutable to Houston, where tax rates are much lower. The key is having a low acquisition cost to make up for the higher tax rate, as you know! And good point about living in Texas (or any other no income tax state) and buying in Texas.

@Brant Jones I live in CA and invest in Texas. I have a series LLC created in TX, not CA. The downside of living in CA is I pay income tax on any rental income in TX which has no state income tax. At least I don't have a double whammy of paying two state income taxes on rental properties, but living in CA is a disadvantage at least with my situation.

@Phillip Vaughan I've purchased 2 homes recently from auction.com and looking at #3. There are many more experienced people on this site who may jump in, but here's my experience (and a few answers to your questions).

They consider a hard money lender same as cash, so if you have one lined up you are good there.  You typically have 30 days to close after an accepted bid.

Use your own title company to provide title insurance and to actually hold the closing. You have that option on most properties.  Tell them upfront you have your own title company.  The title should be clean (verified by your title company) and you wouldn't be responsible for the previous loan.

I look only at "bank owned/newly foreclosed" properties, and stay away from the broker co-op or buyer premium listings. That's an added out-of-pocket expense that most of the homes I look at don't have.

Most will list as occupied, however in my experience the previous owner is gone by the time it's listed on auction.com and there is an accepted bid.  I buy out of state (TX) and have a realtor and contractor on the ground who go by and view the homes.  So far, they have all been vacant with lock box on the front door even though they were listed as occupied.  Again, could be because I am only looking only at "bank owned/newly foreclosed" where bank has already taken possession.

There are deals to be had, you just have to be patient and have a HML in the wings ready to go...

hudhomestore.com (HUD's site) is another good one, also realtybid.com.

@Isaac S. Citibank does.

@Kelly Byrd I had a similar situation last year. I mistakenly opened an LLC in California for rental properties in Texas. I immediately closed the CA LLC and didn't have to pay the $800 franchise tax since I dissolved within a year, hired a local Texas attorney to open a series LLC there (I have multiple SFRs). His fee was not that expensive, he filed and within a few weeks had my LLC.

There was no issue creating an LLC in Texas since my attorney used his office address as the "local LLC" address. My advice would be consult with an attorney in the state where you are buying the property to set up and file the LLC docs, then you are set.

Paying California income tax on the Texas rental income is another story, however...

So awesome to read your story @Kathy Henley - thanks for sharing and congrats!

@James Perez I've used Sherman Bridge for 2 deals (happy with them), and am pre-qualified with Dominion Financial and Lima One. All are very similar in upfront points and interest rates.  My properties are in Houston, fyi...

@Miles Stanley I was interested in San Antonio as well (found two great properties) and started calling around PMs on my own and based on referrals.  Birdy and Larsen are expensive (compared to my PM company in Houston) but there are a few others you may want to contact: Pyramis, Boardwalk (seemed like best price), Ultimate Realty/Ready Rentals.

I ended up not getting the 2 homes at auction, but will be investing there soon. Currently have a portfolio in Houston and have a great, inexpensive PM there if you ever need a referral.