All Forum Posts by: Brian Nel

Is this appraisal something you've contracted to get an accurate estimate or simply necessary as a step in tax or financing to prove value?

Personally, I own a duplex and after 3 appraisals (all for a separate piece of the puzzle) each time the estimator did a hasty job of pulling a few vaguely similar comps and stated the value at the number they had already seen. I'm not too keen on the effort that goes into it.

If you just need to prove value to the bank I would call the next appraiser on the list as I'm sure someone in Houston would be glad to pull something they consider to be a comp and take your check. If you want to truly find the property's value, from an investor point of view, I would be scouring MLS and recent sales personally.

I would like to chime in an add to this old thread. I've just purchased the Texas landlord forms and they are fantastic. 

After reading through many of the offerings online I really like how this form is cleanly worded and has several smart additions to protect landlords even including some clauses not in the TAR lease such as damage to common areas. 

They are both fillable and include the Word versions now. 

I am looking to connect to with any house hacker in Harris county regarding (federal and property) tax setup for the split use. We face some unique challenges and great opportunities. 

I would like to share strategies and learning with anyone who cares to discuss. I am not a CPA nor financial professional but a well educated DIY enthusiast. 

I resided in one of the aforementioned "trailer parks" north of Tidwell for over 2 years... by choice ;) 

Although the area is filled with auto junk yards along Shepard, the neighborhood east towards 45 is actually not rough. It is still far from desirable but not as bad as many places within the loop. Heading West across Shepard - all the way to TC Jester and down to the loop - there are some really nice homes and lots in that area. It will take a long time for the massive auto salvage yards to be displaced but there's lots of potential here as the "Heights" grows north out of the loop. Further evidence of confidence in this area is a particular large town home developer building on Thornton. 

Having painted much of my house with a hired professional (independent one man team) as well as having done some sections myself, I can say you're pretty good with the price estimate there. 

Do not forget to factor in how you value your time, however. Prep work (caulking, sanding, taping) can be extremely time consuming and tedious especially for an amateur. Personally, I've come to find I absolutely abhor painting so anything larger than a room I'll be hiring someone to retain my sanity (as well as a ton of my time since I'm so slow!) 

Omar, I'm sure you're well aware of the culture our industry has of high cash flow and consumption. It's really prevalent across all facets of O&G and takes lots of discipline to be around it daily and not participate. 

To me, your post is as much a statement about personal finance as it is about investment property. It sounds like you've done a great job straightening out your priorities and now it may be useful for you to sit down and look at your numbers to see what you're capable of. Without an idea of budgets, it can seem very abstract and overwhelming. My first advice to you would be to get to know your budget inside and out. Know where every dollar you're making goes and if that's an expense you want to justify. That will give you immediate insight into the timeline and feasibility of accomplishing your goals. 

Once you have an idea of that, just hang out on the property search sites like HAR and get a feel for what's on the market at what price. Also we have a thread going in this forum specific to Houston house hacking if you want to take a look!

I will respond to my own post here since I found the material and it may be useful to others. As indicated by the Texas Comptroller, owner-occupied duplexes are to be classified as a Category A property (single family residential). The documentation even specifically mentions "Do not classify owner-occupied duplexes that are residence homesteads as Category B property. They are classified as Category A property."

 Moreover, in the Q&A it is stated: 

Q. The owner of a duplex lives in one of the units. He applies for and receives a homestead exemption on the part of the  duplex in which he resides. How should the duplex be classified? 

A. Owner-occupied duplexes that have a residence  homestead exemption are classified as Category A property. Triplexes and four-plexes and are reported in Category B. Note: If the owner occupies one of the units in a duplex only and receives a residence homestead for that portion,  then all of the property becomes Category A property. 

I will need to continue to dig however it seems that in the case stated above, the owner-occupied duplex receives a homestead exemption on the portion of the property that is occupied. I am unsure how this amount is reported however.   

Link to documentation: https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/docs/96-313.pdf

I received a very nicely broken down and detailed interior painting bid that shows trim and sq ft all broken out. I've sent the PDF to you in a message. 

It was about $6100 for a 2000 sq ft home ($3 sq/ft) . Not sure if that's in-line with quotes others have been paying but it was similar to a second quote I got from a separate company for the same work. 

Read the fine print of the warranty you choose to ensure there’s not a time period you have to wait after purchasing the warranty and if they’ll replace something that’s a) not broken just old or b) only requires parts not a replacement. 

Since the seller has agreed to pay for a $400 service contract you may ask if they would be willing to just credit you $400 cash at closing with which you could replace the heater. 

Centerpoint will be responsible for the additional gas and power meters. The installation of the separated meters will vary in difficulty depending on how the units are plumbed/wired. Is there already separate breaker boxes for each unit? How about the gas lines? Separate throughout up until a split near the meter or all tied together?

I would first start with a call to Centerpoint to inquire with them and I'll hazard a guess the earnest of the work to ensure there are four separated gas and power inputs to each unit will be on you and your contractor.