All Forum Posts by: Charley C.

I don't know anything about your location so I can't speak about the future appreciation of your current home. If you really feel like there is a lot of future upside potential then may be keep it and pay for a cash out loan with rates so low right now

Another thing to consider before you get too deep in the weeds forward. Look at your DTI, can you qualify? Know that Fanniemae loans will not consider your existing property as a rental income on the come unless you jump though all kinds of hoops

Currently, if you do sell your primary home, that's tax free money you can apply to the type of personal expenses that you can never write off. Or stash it for the next deal that requires you you pounce fast. Having that cash ready is real handy in down turns when there is no lending. That's when the largest fortunes are ever made. I been doing this since the early 80's and seen real 3 down turns. I made money on the last 2 of them and would of made a hell of a lot more by  having cash ready

One reason to stash cash? If Bernie or any of those idiots pull it off, then T minus 3 years we will be will be very deep into a depression  (it will be like a Jimmy Carter economy on steroids) then that $250,000 cash (if you can keep the "labor" parties hands off it) could set you for life

@Casey McCoy if your city allows head in parking, I would not think twice about putting that in. Reserved Parking adds value no matter what if you are already less than 2 spots per unit. .  Barking dogs rob value, loose that idea..

Storage is good idea too. doing both would be great but if I had to pick one or the other, do the head in parking. Head in parking requires very little concrete since you don't have to jack with driveway. 

@Mayra Alatorre if you got a good relationship with a decent builder in there in the valley, that can be one way to get your 4-plexes with land being so cheap.

Only downside to building is the time it takes to start generating the revenue but it pays off in the end. That would all be providing you got a good builder that won't screw the deal up (as they often do)

I wish I had the choices of locations to build like where you live. I got lots of land ready to develop in your area but I just don't live there where I can keep my eyes on those kinds of rentals. I simply will not do conventional leases on residential unless its under a 30 minute drive from where I live.

@Erik Applegate #1 growth factor is simply the babies being born and growing up to supply the work force. I don't live there myself but do have interest there. (we call South Texas "The Valley")

For example; I seen phone rooms for customer service (state side customer service) large amount of young somewhat educated perfectly (there English being their first language is of course perfect too) bilingual people to answer phones. Another example: Healthcare industry is exploding to support the amount of people retiring in the Valley.

Its as warm as Florida but a whole lot cheaper so the Winter Texan market is always growing

Really no one industry dominates the growth, its all growing. And it all backs up to the fact there are plenty of educated people to hire. Even if the valley's young people go off to college thinking they will never move back home.. if they see a job offered near their existing family, they are 1000 more likely to be willing to move back home rather than move to work in another city they never been to before

 The land is very cheap, labor is even cheaper, and rents prices are healthy. Its got the right stuff for cash flow

@Mark Sewell  

its a long drive for me but will try to make it. In the mean while. It takes about a minimum 3-400,000 liquid to play on what I focus on and then an investor would have to make payments until the rent deposits take over.. on my smallest deal I have in mind. (FYI I am not much of SFH flipper)

the one I am I doing now took $700,000 but in retrospect, I could of poor boyed it with half that much easy. (share that with you for sure)

Get more details from me in person but know my motive is to build with OPM too, do that by offering my momentum and If I want to keep a bad *** construction team then I need to keep them busy at all times

@Mark Coleman you are spot on, very small groups with good like minded chemistry is the way to go in my opinion and observations

I only invest in Houston area where I can keep my eyes on my assets. I am getting ready to tie some land up to first develop (the hardest part) then build-rent some one story rentals.. (building to me is the easiest part)

Once I got something in hand, then absolutely we need to meet up. 

  @Shriraj Shah your opening question was kind of like where you would throw a dart on a map to get the best cap rate on multifamily.

I came across a market in far south Texas. Look around Mcallen, Edinburg, Alamo, lot of names of towns, its a bunch of little towns touching each other, check out all the roof tops on google earth. Looks to me like a half a million people living there. May be more. Land is super cheap (prime commercial under $4, flat land, super easy to developed)

PM sent

If you insist on doing it, Run new PEX and patch the sheet rock  as you go. The plumbers that just retrofit PEX all day wont know squat about any sub meters (so dont X out any plumber who seems baffled about a sub meter) but they dont have to know much about the meter either (there will find out all they have to do is put the valve on supplied by your water meter company that just threads on) . You make sure you got a diagram drawn and agreed  to and signed in writing  that :

1) you got one main running though the building, then one SINGLE water entrance per unit. the single entrance needs to be accessible in a closet (or pantry or cabinet under a sink, just not in the hot attic)

2) these meters are wireless, draw their power off the running water so that part is easy... in theory but doing the readings is a pain on your own. Those companies can make it easy for them but zero meter companies will make it easy for you to do it

3) Make dam sure you still have an allocation agreement for the sprinkler system. Tenants paying that water bill will speak up and be loud when a sprinkler head blows off and waste water. I have 20 units and my sparsely used sprinkler system sucks up 75% of the total water usage and I don't have tenants paying for that water (mistake)

@Dustin Hood there are many outfits across the country that will  put sub meters for almost free to you but charge the tenants. Its a better idea.  Got to really shop hard. I can't drop names here but they are super easy to google up 

I am using my own sub-meters and its royal pain. (I build new) plus software is a pain too. It was a mistake going it alone. The bigger companies got that market fixed and rigged for them, better to just play their game and obey them

To make matters worse, in Texas, you can't charge more than 10% more than what you pay the city for your water. Gov. Perry signed that in to law right before he left office. So when YOU try to to get an admin fee, its a risk your taking but not for a giant water meter company that has lawyers filling our state law makers pockets.

If you got an older exempt apartment complex where you can use the allocation system. Its not such a bad deal, count your blessings