All Forum Posts by: Effram Barrett

Baytown is a decent area to buy and hold with a lot of the plants/refineries out there. What type of investing are you looking to do and what are your goals? 

For the first question, I would say start making people you know aware that you're getting your license. It would be pretty good for you to target veterans in and out of state, and also learning the benefits of the VA loan will help you tremendously.
 

How can I make a va loan on a home work for me long term to turn into a great rental? I would say find a home that will qualify for VA lending and plan to owner occupy for the first year. Eventually rent it out, but do your homework on the market rent etc before you purchase. The VA can be very helpful if utilized properly

What groups can I become a part of to begin the networking portion for investing? Specifically, with the intent of finding a partner to work with and learn from. There's so many groups in Houston, and a lot of them have tire kickers in them. The key is to finding someone who can relate to you and doesn't mind pouring into you.

Your best bet would be to get a standard TREC contract from the TREC website. You will need the third party financing addendum too which is available on TREC as well. I would seek an attorney or realtor to protect yourself for your 1st few deals. You risk exposing yourself severely if you do not know what you're doing. 

You should look for a flat rate listing service. There are companies that charge aa rate to list your property for you, and I don't think they take a commission. Listing spark is one company in TX who does this. I'm no way affiliated with Listing Spark so do your own due diligence, but it's a slap in the face to ask a traditional agent to discount their commission unless you do 4-5 homes a month.

Pick the agents brain to see how well they know the market the property is in. You want to see how knowledgeable they are. See if they know what types of homes sell better in the neighborhood. One thing that would stick out to me is if their listing price and my ARV are similar. It may be beneficial to get an agent who understands investing and all the nuances that come with it.

If you manage your own properties then you shouldn't need a license, but you will need one to manage properties for others.

Galveston is the perfect location for STR. If you're moving to League City, then you will be in a prime market. There are several prestigious markets like Clear Lake, Friendswood, and Pearland to name a few. You can travel up 146 and find more blue collar markets close to industrial plants. I'm curious to hear how everything shakes out for you guys.

You could see if the seller will come down to the appraisal price, but that may be unlikely in this market. You could also contest and have another appraisal done. 

If you have your appraisal contingency then you could back out, but here's not much lemonade to be made out of these lemons.

Do you have a W2 job currently?

I would normally think this is a great idea, but you're so close to retirement age that you would be in a horrible spot if things didn't work out. This would essentially be putting your eggs in one basket  

Would it be possible to buy both units and then sell the one you don't really want? 

Shouldn't have trouble finding a buyer in this market