All Forum Posts by: David Ivy

@Hira Man Shrestha

I don't know the price point(s) or specific type of condo/townhouse that you're targeting. However, I'd probably point you to the E. Riverside & Montopolis area of Austin (78741). The median condo/townhouse sells there for around $200k currently with median rents around $1,450/mo. This area has undergone tremendous post-recession change and continues to the present day. Moreover, Oracle is well under construction on a massive new campus off of E. Riverside:

This is sure to spur continued development, especially in mixed use commercial. Here's one such proposal:

I would expect other tech companies to piggyback on Oracle's new presence in the Riverside area.

@Tim Wang

It was great to meet you!

@Chris Krinslow

If the property is in Texas, I have some lender contacts I can pass along. Feel free to send me an email with details at the address below.

@Henry Winslow

Welcome to BP! Austin is not STR friendly. You can find out more here. In my understanding, to legally use a tiny home as an STR, it would need to be your primary residence or associated with your primary residence (e.g., in the back yard). In Austin, your best legal option for a non-owner occupied STR would be to buy a unit in one of the handful of condo communities that allow short-term rental (or at least don't actively enforce STR restrictions). I can send you a list of some to check out.

The September 2017 Central Texas Housing Market Report is out from the Austin Board of REALTORS®. The weather isn't the only thing cooling this time of year. Single-family home sales declined across much of the Austin-Round Rock MSA last month, while inventory levels continued to increase. However, it's important to keep this in context:

Here are the basic stats on single-family home sales for August 2017 for the City of Austin and the greater Austin area:

According to Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of Research at the National Association of REALTORS®,

@Patrick Mora

You're right about Austin expanding to the east and northeast. In 2016, Austin added 159 people per day on average (source). If Austin's population grows at 2.9% per year, the population would be around the 3 million mark by 2030, which is only 13 years away. So, over the long term, it's fairly certain that the undeveloped or more "rural" areas of outer Austin (or its ETJ) that you're exploring will be fully developed. However, I don't think anyone can give you a specific timeline for that with enough confidence to significantly impact your present-day investment decisions. There are just too many factors affecting that, including local and state politics. For example, both the City of Austin and many of its residents are very hostile to urban "sprawl." They have actively worked to fight it in the past and will almost certainly continue to do so. This is a big issue for CodeNEXT.

@Paul Vasquez

I made the Austin-San Marcos drive during rush hour a couple days a week for 6 months a few years ago. I was glad when the project was finished. So, I can imagine the grind of that commute Monday through Friday.

It's hard to answer your question about refinancing without knowing your total financial picture and longer-term plans. However, I'd want first to know if your San Marcos property makes sense as a cash flowing property as it currently is, prior to any refinancing. You said your mortgage + taxes are around $950/mo. Based on what I know about that area's rental market, I'd ballpark the rent in the $1,600-$1,700/mo. range, unless there are recent upgrades or special features. You may get a bit more for the 1.5 acres if you find a tenant who enjoys that kind of property. However, newer construction 3/2 homes on smaller, lower-maintenance residential lots are currently renting in that range north of San Marcos just off of I-35. So, suppose you're conservative and think you'll get at least $1,700/mo. Run the numbers and see what you think. In addition to mortgage and taxes, don't forget insurance, vacancy (at least 8% of gross rents), property management (if you'll use it), capital expenses, and maintenance.

Once you've seen how those numbers look, you can compare them to various refi scenarios. I wouldn't recommend doing any refi on the San Marcos property that will take you into negative cash flow.

It also sounds like you won't be able to buy the condo you described without pulling some amount of equity out of the San Marcos property. Is that right? If I were dead-set on that property, or at least that price range & putting 20% down, then I'd be looking to take no more out of the San Marcos property than is absolutely necessary to keep the down payment from putting a serious strain on my overall financial picture. You don't want to leave yourself tapped out, as you said. On the other hand, you don't want to tap all the equity you can simply because it's there.

It sounds like you've already been in touch with the right people on the distressed property. That sounds like a pretty strange response. My recommendation is to keep trying to contact the owner. I'm happy to take a look at it to see if it's something I can help you with. Feel free to get in touch.

I hope this helps!

@Kris Wong is right. Austin is not STR friendly. You can rent a single family home on a short-term/AirBnB basis only if it's your primary residence or associated with your primary residence (e.g., a guest house, garage apartment, ADU, etc.). Many people still flout the regulations, and the city relies mostly on annoyed neighbors to report the worst offenders. In Austin, your best legal option for a non-owner occupied STR would be to buy a unit in one of the handful of condo communities that allow short-term rental (or at least don't actively enforce STR restrictions). I can send you a list of some to check out.

See more info. here.

Here's an excellent article (link) from Independence Title offering some initial data and thoughts on the economic impact of Hurricane Harvey. It also links to a decent Reuter's article (link) about post-Harvey investor activity in Houston. Both are well worth the read.

I'd be very interested to hear what those of you already working post-Harvey have experienced so far.

@Jason Pavloff @Patton VanVeckhoven

I was just about to recommend The Hay Group, but I see that Patton has already responded.