All Forum Posts by: David Hood

Get a degree, with CS you'll get paid well.

Find some investors to help you purchase a house in a college town and get some roommates to cover the note.

What price SF are you looking at? What do you mean by "expensive"?  $1k? $10k?

Roof replacement is major expensive.  

HVAC replacement is major expensive.

Walk the slab perimeter and look for washouts where water looks like it might be flowing underneath the slab, this can indicate broken drain lines. This can be expensive to tunnel and repair.

Check the water pressure to make sure old galvanized water lines are not rusting up and restricting the flow. Complete new plumbing in an old house can get expensive.

Prepare yourself that you might not make any money on this project. 

It will take every bit of 130k for a house that large (and many many months depending on how much work you contract out)

I'd suggest you get a dumpster and clean up the property so it doesn't look so daunting then try to sell it to someone with experience. You are going to need a lot of things to go exactly right to make that project a success.

A smaller house would be a better first project.

FWIW, some of the rents on these properties seems low. I'm suspect that they may be rough shape or bad areas. Two bedroom apartments and condos in the area go for $725+. Usually houses go for $900+.

Channelview is a good cash flow rental area. I have had units there for many years. I grew up there 50 years ago.

However, there are some pockets that are not very desirable.

Also, don't expect much (if any) appreciation. Homes are still selling 10%(+) below their 2008 peak. Falling oil prices will not help the situation.

How much is the monthly rent on this place? A $700 per month place might be a different answer than a $1700 per month place.

I have six SFR houses in Houston and have never used a realtor. Just signs around the neighborhood. Of course it may depend on your area and monthly rent amount. Mine are only $1000 per month units.

I'd bet there are properties to be had within a 45 minute drive of wherever you live. You might have to adjust your thinking to find them. Don't just look at properties where you'd want to live. Look at where the numbers work. The sexy areas are a gamble on appreciation, I'd look for cash flow.

I'm in Houston and can't touch anything within a 5 mile radius of my house where rent numbers work. Most nearby stuff that sells for $300k only rents for $1500. However, if I drive 20 miles I can buy 5 SFRs for the same $300k and gross $5000 per month. 

Anyone can sell puts in a bull market and make money. But, since markets don't go up forever, it's only a matter of time before you get eaten by a bear.  Options are legalized gambling. If it was safe and easy, everyone would do it.

Back to the original topic.

I'm sure there are folks on this board that would be interested in helping place your money into some deals.

Sounds questionable to me. But, I don't know all your details.

How much capital do you have? How much is your annual income? How will you qualify for loans with no job? Why Tuscon? What's plan B if the RE market goes soft? How much revenue do you think it will take to pay all that staff you're planning?