All Forum Posts by: Collin Garbarino

I saw this article in the WSJ this morning. 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/whats-a-house-worth-w...

The article might be behind a paywall, but the main point is that big investment groups like Blackstone are buying properties based on "drive-by" rather than appraisal. Some of these "drive-bys" aren't even physical drive-bys. Some companies in India will give a "broker price opinion" based on Google Earth and some real estate websites for $10 a property.

I'm all for investors eyeballing a market that they know. After all, we know that two official appraisals can come back very different. However, it seems like outsourcing that opinion of value to someone on the other side of the world seems risky.

Anyone seen the effects of this in their market? I don't have any hard evidence, but it seems like this kind of behavior has driven up prices here in the Houston area.

Will you be able to get 30-year commercial loans? 15 or 20 years seems more likely.

Maybe you want to bundle half of your existing loans into one commercial loan. You'd then be freed up to buy your four properties with generous 30-year loans, plus you'd have the cushion to buy two more if you saw something you like.

If you have enough equity, you might even be able to do the whole thing with no out of pocket.

@Tanner Carson,

Good job tracking down a property. We can't wait around for deals to come to us!

This is my family when I mention real estate investing.

How many times did it flood before Harvey?

Forget about the money for a second and ask, "Where do I want to live?"

Do you like living at that address? Does your family have roots in the neighborhood or in the local school? If so, then you should probably build your dream home.

However, it sounds like you're already planning to move. If you're planning to move out of that neighborhood in the next couple of years anyway, I say just take the money and run.

Try FastTrack Remodeling. They only work with investors.

https://www.fasttrackremodeling.com/

People will argue round and round as to whether a 15-year or 30-year mortgage is best for your primary residence. Don't worry to much about it. If you get into a mortgage and decide you made a mistake on the timetable, you can either pay down faster (if you got a 30-year) or refinance into a longer term (if you originally opted for the 15-year). It all depends on your goals, but you need to remember that your goals will probably shift over time.

The best thing you could do is buy this first house like an investment property. Look for a deal. Buy something at a 20–30% discount. Maybe even look for something that needs a rehab. Pretend like it's a flip, but keep it to live in. If you do that, you'll start with equity in the house.

There are so many houses in the Houston area. Don't jump at the first thing a realtor shows in the space of a weekend.

Don't forget to get connected to a local real estate group here in Houston. You can make some valuable connections with people!

I recently made this same mistake on my first purchase. 

I bought a property for cash with my LLC, and then I was surprised that I couldn't get a 30-year loan to pay for the rehab. I ended up with a 15-year commercial loan at 5.5%.

I bought the house at such a discount that it wasn't an expensive mistake. It's just one of those learning things. I'll probably refinance sooner or later.