All Forum Posts by: Cody L.

Having bought/sold 100's of multifamily in Houston, both on the MLS and off, I can throw in my best guess as to why it was listed as 12 units...

Technically, HAR doesn't want you posting multimfamily over 12 units.  There is nothing stopping you from doing so, but you'll shortly get a volition notice (I listed a 16 unit I own in Montrose years ago, and found this out).  Just like if you list something with 6 photos.  HAR will allow you to do it -- then send a nastygram about how you need 6 pics.

So it could be they listed it as 12 just so they could go on MLS w/o any hassle.

Congrats on the deal.

(Occasional reader / infrequent poster...)

I own about 1,000 units inside the loop.  Many of them are in the SE area (which is why I'm replying)

When you say SE, are you talking about the SE of the innerloop?   If so, drop me a line.  I don't get to meet many other actual buyers in this area.   While I no longer live in Houston, my company is still there and I'm buying all the time.

hello from Houston. If in the midtown/montrose area, let me know. We are moving into our new offices so are a little crazy but I love making times to meet others doing what we do (at any scale)

As someone who has set numbers for himself, I can tell you this: if your the type to set a number and hit it, you're the type that'll keep moving up the bar.

I've raised my number many times and finally quit doing so. Now my plan is to work and grow my business till I don't enjoy it.

I have 500 units and a $300k/month rent roll. Low (IMO, ~50%) leverage. Sure I COULD stop but why? Do what? Not sure what I'd do that of enjoy more.

Shawn Thom: way to go! I still watch a lot of 'flip this house' shows on TV and always have the bug to start doing them again. That's how I started.

Just wait, rather than being worried about it's proximity, pretty soon you'll be flipping the apartment building next door. :)

Exactly what others said. It might be semantics in regards to your question but you're looking to hire a coach. A mentor is someone that 'takes you under your wing' and teaches you because they want to.

I don't have a desire to coach for a fee, but I love to mentor. I end up being an unofficial mentor to several people who have done business with me in some fashion. i.e., I list a building for sale and it's someones first time. I have a personal interest in making sure they succeed with the property I sold them and I continue to follow up with them to see if they want help in future deals.

In regards to learning though... Find a local club (in Houston we have RICH, which I wasn't impressed with when I went but maybe I went to a few cheese meetings). Make friends (real, don't be fake about it) with people that are doing what you want to do. I have a few friends that are in the same market as I am. We've become very close. We have margarita lunches many times a week to go over our business, the problems, new deals, etc. I've learned a tremendous amount that way and others can too.

I'm a big fan of newbies starting with a "some money down" as I did. I found some fixer uppers that were sold off market that I could get the seller to seller financing with a bit down and a short term loan (even via wrap when a lien existed). That allowed me to buy, fix, sell, and use the equity to do the same but with a larger property.

So I hate to answer your question with an answer that doesn't really apply -- but if you can get some money in the game (shake the couch cushions, or as friends/family) you have many more options.

The other thing is to work hard and birddog properties for local buyers. It doesn't cost money (but it does cost time). And you can make money AND learn. I (used to) spend a lot of time just trying to find buildings to buy that fit a criteria. I now have employees that do it but if someone (before) were to find them for me I'd gladly pay them a commission of sorts -- depending on the quality of the deal. That could put "easy" $$ into someones pocket. But more importantly, they'd (you'd) learn a lot about what makes a good property and learn what to do with it once you got it from someone that already is doing it for a living.

hehe, yeah. the 4th is generally my fav day as my tenants all pay on line and it takes a few days to hit my account. But on/around the fourth -- BOOM.

The depression from my bank balance as of the 30th of the previous month goes away ;)

On higher end, I'll put in granite slab tops. I find the increase in rent (and lowered downtime) provides a good RIO and any increase in rent adds about 100x that amount to the building value (rule of thumb). So if I can get another $25/month, that's $2,500 in value added. And if it's $1000 to put them in, that's a 30% return.
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On cheaper property I put in granite TILES. That can be done cheap (~$5/SF) and allow you to advertise "Granite countertops!" and get most of the same advantages (on sale and lease)

Thanks Sam Craven. I replied in your thread. Going to the woodlands is a bit of a no-go for me, but if you ever decide to have one closer to the city, you're welcome to use my office space. It can fit several people and is in the midtown area. I'm not trying to hijack any meetings you have planned but rather leave the option on the table for any future meetings.