All Forum Posts by: Frank S.

I have a long tenure tenant in my SFR. We made a verbal agreement a year ago: he gives me 55k down and I sell him the house in one year. The agreed price is 170k minus his 55k down payment. He just got pre-approved by a lender what are my next step to close the sale? I think I need to confirm the pre-approval, agree on a closing date, contact a title company, and have the title company facilitate the rest of the deal. I am worried I am missing something. This is my first time doing this time of sale. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated. Also let me know if you need more info.

@Rogers Smith The disclosure statement says it's on a well-known fault line in Houston called "Long Point Fault". I believe that is a dip fault. I'm leaning on avoiding this project because I think it would be difficult to resale and I'd hate to pour money into a property that is on uncertain ground. I know in California, this may not be a big deal because there are lots of faults but in Houston there is not and because people don't know about them, including myself, it's a negative.

I was thinking about buying a home on a fault line in Texas. The home seems to be in decent condition but I would think that it would not be wise to build a new home on a fault line. It's not a fault like California but it has been known to slowly change over decades. Thoughts?

A wholesaler showed me an SFR that was on a known fault line in Texas. The Home looked to be in decent condition. It was built in the 60's and the only thing that seemed weird was the outside elevation compared to other homes nearby. It was raised and looked slightly sloped, not straight from the horizontal point of view. The fault seems to be active but nothing like faults in California. Would you buy a property like this to flip it?

I've been looking for a commercial investment property for some time now with no luck. The numbers are just not good enough to make a deal work. So I decided to contact a broker in my area to help me search for a property. Found him on a LoopNet ad. Seems like a nice and legitimate broker. He says he will only work with me if I sign a 6-month contract with him. He went on to say I could give him a week's notice to cancel the contract. I believe this is normal but I'm not sure. Any thoughts on single representation contracts?

Good point @Cody L. thanks!

I'm in the same boat. I have over 100K saved but can't find any good deals. I feel like we are at the top of the cycle and maybe we need to wait for a downturn. If I could have anything, I would love to find a small multi-family apartment (5-20 units) with improvement potential. This way I could get each unit relatively cheap and all in one location. I wouldn't open a small business like a restaurant. That's a lot of work for a little return. Make sure you consider 3 things before investing your money: 1. How long will it take to get your returns? 2. What would the ROI be? 3. How difficult would the entire project be? Hope that helps a little!

Here are a few things I'd try: 

1. Google "(county name) tax appraisal district". Then find the page/button that says property search by address. You should be able to find out a lot with the tax info.

2. If you find the owners name, Google it and Facebook Search it. If it's a unique name, you should be able to find something.

3. If the tax appraisal return address is different than the property you search, they don't live there. Make sure to check out that address.

4. Knock on the door if you feel safe. Start a kind conversation with the person who answers.

5. Knock on the door of the neighbors.

6. Send them a letter or postcard. But if it's a rental home you may not get far because the owner does not live there. So make sure to address "Owner of (property address)".

Hope that helps!

I agree. A decent, commercial multi-family MLS does not exist. LoopNet is good but most properties are hidden behind a paywall. If you know of any small apartments that meet my description, please reach out to me. In the mean time, I am cold calling prospective sellers.

I live in Houston, TX. I've been looking for a small apartment (5-20 units), under $500K, not in section 8 areas, with room for improvements. Does not have to be in Houston but I know Houston the best. I have saved $150K and have family and friends willing to put in more. I also have a complex spreadsheet I run the number through and if I can get over 10% cash on cash, I'd try to go after it. But I have not been able to see anything that makes sense in the last year or so. I have experience in construction so I wonder how difficult would it be to find some land and build something like 10 units (1/1, 5K sq. ft. building on 10K sq. ft. lot)? Are we currently in a real estate cycle where it may be cheaper to build than buy? Any thoughts?