All Forum Posts by: Gregory Schwartz

Evictions are relatively easy here in Texas—a couple hundred bucks and a few weeks. So I haven't really looked into insuring against something like that. 

@Summer Chen this is a good point. Which is why I have additional insurance coverage 

@Clayton Silva haha and now I keep doing it because I realize that being cheap is making me wealthy haha

Just get started. I tried furnished finders, VRBO, direct to employers, and Airbnb. For our business, Airbnb provided 90% occupancy with the least headache. But every market is different, and to be honest, each MTR is different. So the best advice is to start and learn as you go!

Good luck!

@Jackie Mcmorrow

I can relate—my analysis paralysis was market-driven too. I’ve had (and am still recovering from) a serious case of "market FOMO."

What I’ve learned in this business is that the people in the market matter more than the market itself. The most important factor is trust. I invest close to home because not only is it a solid market, but I also trust my property manager with my life... my wife is our property manager :)

If you can’t invest close to home, then pick 2–3 markets and start building relationships. Reach out to agents, PMs, and other investors to see who feels like a good fit. As they say, bet on the jockey, not the horse.

Good luck!

@Damani Tilton

I’ve used a property manager before and now self-manage. I've also worked with clients who’ve had great experiences with PMs—and others who’ve had nightmares. One client even ended up being sued along with his PM by his tenant. 100% the PM fault.

For me personally, its a character flaw that lead to self managing—I like to have full control of my portfolio. When I had a PM managing my duplex, I never felt like I fully knew what was going on. The service felt half-assed, and I just didn’t trust them. In their defense, my duplex only brought in $1,100/month, so at 10%, they were making just $110. Hard to expect white-glove service for that amount.

Since then, I've kept my portfolio local to Bryan and College Station, TX, and my wife and I have been self-managing since 2020. I think we could've managed 15–25 long-term rentals while working full-time jobs, but when we hit 26 units (a mix of STR, MTR, and LTR), it became too much—so we quit our jobs and went full-time into real estate, managing our portfolio and running our agent team.

From what I’ve seen, self-managing reduces vacancy by about 2–3%, increases rent collected by 5–10%, and obviously saves 100% of the PM fees. That said, self-management isn’t free—we set aside 5% of gross rent to cover the overhead of our self-management "business."

For us, self-managing was a no-brainer. That being said, if you're working 60+ hours a week, are a high-income earner, and have 10+ units, then it might make sense to pay a PM to take the weight off your plate.

Looks great... but help me understand the numbers. Your purchase price, is that the cost of the land plus the total cost to build? 

I guess since you developed this lot I was expecting to see, 
Lot Cost
Built Cost
Sale Price
Profit 

VA loan and house hack that bad boy! Then look for friends and family that want to partner or lend you money.

Thanks, Don — I really appreciate the thoughtful response.

I take a similar stance, though with a slightly heavier emphasis on reinvesting in my business. Right now, my default strategy is buy-and-hold, value-add residential real estate here in College Station and Bryan, TX. I focus on building a strong foundation of long-term rentals, with some midterm rentals mixed in for flexibility.

The "higher-risk, higher-reward" side of my portfolio is actually my real estate business itself. I'm intentionally growing an investor-focused real estate agency, and I see reinvesting in my business, my education, and my team as the highest ROI opportunities. The real estate portfolio is my stable, long-term wealth builder — but the business is how I grow faster.

Here’s the general framework I’m working from:

Maintain a strong personal financial foundation, including a healthy emergency fund (reduce risk)

Continue buying base-hit, value-add, buy-and-hold properties as opportunities come up targetign 12-20% ROI (get rich slowly)

Build a top-performing, investor-focused real estate team in my local market (get rich faster)

@Charles Perkins , so it sounds like you grew more because of the sale of the property? Thats good to hear, I'm so hardwired to never sell haha