All Forum Posts by: David Ivy

I'm a full-time Realtor in Austin with a heavy investor client focus, though I also work with traditional clients (about a 60/40 split). So, I have a good grip on the market from both perspectives. I've also been actively investing in the Austin area for the past five years.

I'm happy to see if we're a good fit. I'll send you a PM.

@Dan Burstain

Thanks for the reply! The data in my post is limited to median rental rates on single family homes broken down by MLS area. Are you saying that MLS statistics on single family median rental rates in Austin are unreliable or misleading because a large chunk of the overall rental market (e.g., luxury complexes) happens outside of the MLS?

@Brandon Crisp @Rob Willis

You may find a post I made a few months ago valuable as well. It breaks down median rental rates for single family homes in Austin by MLS area. It's here.

@Christian Ruiz

Here are the zip codes you requested. Unless you're specifically interested in the December numbers, you'll want to look at the YTD numbers. You'll need to click the images to enlarge them. I hope they're clear enough. BP is funny about images.

78705

78751

78756

78757

@Account Closed

I agree that everyone, not just investors, should keep the "trust, but verify" mantra in mind at all times. I just wanted to note that not every investor holds property in his or her name. Many use an LLC or series LLC, which can be named all kinds of things that have nothing to do with the person's name (e.g., "Lucky 777 Holdings, LLC" or "Culebra Partners, a series of Lucky 777 Holdings, LLC"). The names can even differ from individual property to individual property. Of course, I'm not saying that the "100 unit" guy is legit. But someone with those kind of real estate assets would probably have them inside one or more business entities, not just in his personal name.

Here are the basic stats on single-single family homes sales for Dec. 2016 for the City of Austin and the Greater Austin Area.

Here are excerpts of from a recent press release from the Austin Board of REALTORS®:

Note that this echoes a sentiment I expressed earlier this year in a BP post here.

On the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area...

On the City of Austin...

What do you think? I have access to lots more data (e.g., specific zip codes). Let me know if there's anything else you'd like to see.

@Ross Ellington

In the current market, you're highly unlikely to find a single family or residential multifamily property in Austin fitting the 1% rule. However, as @Account Closed said, a quick rule-of-thumb, like the 1% rule, is just a tool among many others that investors can use to quickly determine whether a deal is worth researching further.

@Nathan Williams

Are the properties held in an LLC or other entity?

@Joe Garro

Congratulations on your first investment! Does the property cash flow? If you're comfortable sharing your numbers, I'd be very interested to see how they work out. Feel free to send me a direct message.

The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M publishes a fantastic Texas Landlord and Tenant's Guide that was invaluable to me when I first became a landlord five years ago. Here are a couple non-obvious points of which you (or others) may or may not be aware:

• In Texas, when the applicant receives the rental application form from the landlord, the landlord must provide, in writing, his or her criteria for accepting or denying the application. Moreover, the applicant must sign an acknowledgement form indicating the notice was provided. The acknowledgment must include the following language or its equivalent: “Signing this acknowledgment indicates that you have had the opportunity to review the landlord’s tenant selection criteria. The tenant selection criteria may include factors such as criminal history, credit history, current income, and rental history. If you do not meet the selection criteria, or if you provide inaccurate or incomplete information, your application may be rejected and your application fee will not be refunded.”
• Landlords running a credit check on prospective tenants as part of the application process must meet several conditions, including: (1) The landlord must get the prospective tenant’s written permission to run the check. (2) If the landlord declines to rent to the tenant based on the applicant’s credit report, the landlord must inform the applicant of this in a “Notice of Adverse Action.” The notice must contain the credit information and a toll-free number or email address where the prospective tenant may contact the credit reporting agency.

There are plenty of other points to note in the guide, which can be found here.

@Brandon Mitchell

Best of luck on closing your first deal! I'm happy to help in any way I can. Feel free to reach out!