All Forum Posts by: Curt Riffel

You also need to look into Mortgage Credit Certificates. There is some talk that those are going away starting this tax year, but I received one with my VA loan and it has saved me thousands in federal taxes over the past 5 years.

If the lender cannot do an MCC for you, than don't use that lender. Find someone that will do an MCC, it is absolutely worth it.

I call Richardson -  The Chard.

I'll be in a similar situation in the future. Only $60K of equity in our house and I have to determine whether I sell or keep the house. Because of capital gain exclusion rules on primary residences I will likely be selling. Unfortunately mortgage rates have risen in the past few years so my mortgage rate will be significantly higher. I will have the choice of putting more down as a down payment or keeping cash on hand. I plan to put down at least 25%, thus avoiding PMI. Interest is a real money suck over time, but some do not want to tie up all of their money. You have to weigh interest costs against the benefit of having multiple deals ongoing at the same time.

If my property had no appreciation I would likely have kept the property as a rental. Also potentially if I was planning to live nearby I might keep the property as well.

My friend has 2 Air BnB in Amarillo. They are condos which rent out okay, but not as well as I would expect in a larger metro area. She attempts to rent them as short term 3 months if possible, but does quite a few 2-3 night stays as well. My feeling is that it barely covers the mortgage, taxes, and upkeep and is not doing as well as she had hoped they would be.

Amarillo in general is a tough market for Air BnB IMO. Not a big tourist draw or job producer.

The finalists, named by the company are Toronto, Columbus, Indianapolis, Chicago, Denver, Nashville, Los Angeles, Dallas, Austin, Boston, New York City, Newark, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Montgomery County, Washington, D.C., Raleigh, Northern Virginia, Atlanta, and Miami.

“In the coming months, Amazon will work with each of the candidate locations to dive deeper into their proposals, request additional information, and evaluate the feasibility of a future partnership that can accommodate the company’s hiring plans as well as benefit its employees and the local community. Amazon expects to make a decision in 2018,” the company says in a news release.

The Chard has some rules about AirBNB I believe if you check the city website. Rental Registration at cor.net 

On August 12, 2013, the Richardson City Council adopted a number of enhancements to the Rental Registration Program to create efficiencies for property owners and tenants including:

• Interior inspections are no longer mandatory but are highly recommended to ensure the property adheres to regulations designed to protect the safety and welfare of the tenants. A tenant may request an interior inspection at any time by contacting Community Services.

• Exterior inspections of the premises including the yard and around the building are mandatory and will be conducted on an annual basis. Additional information will be provided to you prior to the annual inspection date for your property via regular mail and a door hanger.

As a reminder, a completed Rental Registration Program application is required at the initial registration of the property and registration updates will continue to be required within 30 days of a change in occupancy or tenancy.

A non-refundable rental registration fee of $75.00 is assessed for each property and is due in January of every year. A statement for the rental registration fee will be mailed to you on January 2 or within 30 days of receiving an initial registration form if you register a property during the year.

In an effort to keep rental property owners and tenants informed about changes to policy or procedure, or to provide specific inspection information about your property, we are asking owners of such rental property to use the update links below to provide us with a working email address. This address will not be given out or provided to anyone not associated with the Rental Registration Program. If you do not currently have an internet service provider or a working email address, you may set up a free account with services such as Yahoo, Google, Hotmail, or MSN in order to be able to receive future correspondence, renewal notices, or other necessary information about your property or the rental program.

The lenders are not lending right now for multifamily in the DFW area from what I understand and have not been for nearly a year. The excess inventory will burn off slowly and we will have 96% occupancy rates again in the near future. However the upper tier market is getting crammed down by the flood of new apartments coming online. There will likely be solid growth in the DFW MF space, and this may only be a setback for the really expensive units >$2500/mo. The price range of $1000 - $1500 should not experience any issues in a year's time and likely aren't now.

My concern is with increased rent concessions, it may be foretelling of an impending correction, slow-down, or recession. 

The real estate contract for the purchase of the house is with the seller, not the previous tenant. It should include all of the fixtures and the seller of the house should work with you to remedy the situation. 

It is easy to determine what is 'personal property' vs. what is considered a 'fixture'. When personal property is affixed to the structure by means of bolts, screws, nails, cement, glue or other permanent attachment, it becomes a 'fixture' which is part of the real estate. At the time real property is sold, fixtures are automatically included in the sales price unless specifically excluded.

Ultimately, sellers and buyers should avoid assumptions. Put all items of interest or concern to you in the purchase agreement.

My office looks out to that neighborhood. We are on the opposite side of I-75. What I like about that neighborhood is that it is really close to the DART station. I'd be concerned that this particular house is 50% higher price than nearly every house it is surrounded by.  My assumption is you would be living in the house and renting out the other rooms. I don't see how it would be possible to rent out a few rooms for $1,775. I think someone can rent out a whole house, in a better neighborhood, for around $1,500. 

By briefly looking at that house and knowing the neighborhood that it is in, the price listed at $189k seems high. However, it is a really large house for 1954. Also that price point is the sweet spot for first time homeowners in DFW. The market has slowed down quite a bit which should help you find the house that fits your needs and budget. The tax rolls have this house around $100k, so you can reasonably expect those taxes to rise significantly if you purchase anywhere close to $189k. 

In conclusion, your rents appear high, and the price of the house seems high to me considering it doesn't have updates at all. If you move forward with this house, have the seller fix everything the inspector finds, given how soft the market is, I think you can reasonably expect some seller concessions.

Let the free market decide the rent price. Capping rent affects the value of the property significantly. Why should the government dictate how much your property is worth? By controlling the amount of rent you can receive, this places a cap on the value of the property as well. Owners are less likely to improve their properties to market conditions due to deflated rents. Enacting rent control in NYC has had some really negative consequences, those costs are still being paid, albeit not by the consumer. 

There are reasons all owners do not improve their rental houses year over year, sometimes there is a demand for lower quality homes with inexpensive rents. If they improved these homes to an average level, they would also want to increase the rent to an average level as well. Last year in Dallas the mayor and a slum lord got into a spat because the houses weren't in livable condition according to the city. The slum lord said to bring them up to code he would have to raise rents significantly or close down the properties. He opted to close down the properties, in part due to the costs. This had the effect of displacing hundreds of residents who had been paying an average of $400-500 per month for their rental house. The market rate of rent is likely closer to $1000 depending upon the quality of the residence. So yes, sometimes there is a need for substandard housing. Its not pretty, I personally would not choose to live in those conditions, but for some it is a reality. To think that the world owes you something is a fallacy. The world does not owe you a class B property. In fact the populations in undeveloped nations are likely living in worse conditions. 

Rent control will never force someone to pay above market price; it will only be used to prevent the market price of rent from being paid. The city can enact different strategies to improve living conditions and home ownership, like raising property tax for non-owner occupied residences. The city can build its own rent free complexes as they operate for a different goal than a private investor.