All Forum Posts by: Seth Teel

@Jason Malabute  All of San Antonio City is inside Bexar County.  There are some unincorporated areas with San Antonio addresses that are in adjacent counties.  There are also some areas that pay taxes (due to school districts) in two counties (i.e.  Bexar County & Comal County).   Generally speaking the SAEDF is bound by the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which does include municipalities outside of Bexar County (like New Braunfels or Boerne), but the most, if not all, of the largest employers are based within Bexar County.

Literally my google query was "san antonio largest employers."  The snippet that pops up is below. The first link is to the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation. If you don't feel like scrolling, you can click the "Largest Employers" tab at the top (seen below).   Good luck.

Monthly rent estimate? 

@Jessica Chow  Peter does great stuff.  The large scale commercial development he does at Grey Street Partners certainly has a positive impact on San Antonio.  Rising barn is a great concept, but kinda a niche market.  They have couple cool projects in Dignowity Hill, and a pre-fab structure at Broadway News ( camerarenting.com), but most of their stuff is one-offs out in the Hill Country.    

While I like the idea of tiny houses, I don't think San Antonio is the best market for it.  They are much better suited in Austin, where real estate prices are so crazy that one can benefit from the cost savings of a tiny home.  Here in San Antonio, you can still buy a regular sized home for less than the price of some of the Rising Barn tiny homes.  This means your buyer pool is limited to people that really want a tiny home and care about the environmental impact reduction their building process has.

Here's some insight on several Texas cities based on population growth. 

"New Census Data Show Texas Cities Are Growing Faster Than All Other States https://n.pr/2Luj0no "

Absolute Growth

Percentage Growth

I'd take option #1 any day of the week. 

I assume you will gross significantly more than the net of $40K.  Sink that money into something else that cash flows and will also appreciate.  Have you considered 1031 exchange and moving up on property or properties?

You allude to it, but given our current state of affairs, the market could become volatile with the push of a button.  I'd hat to see 2019 come and you only be able to see for the same price as today, and only have the cash flow to account for it.  Seems like the money could be reinvested somewhere else and produce a better return.

Which neighborhood BTW?  

I think it's a grossly over-inflated market in that neighborhood.  I feel this way for several reasons:

• There are still dope addicts and homeless wondering the streets day and night
• Crime is still high relative to other neighborhoods adjacent to downtown
• The infrastructure is terrible. Some of the worse streets in the urban core, missing and overgrown sidewalks, alleys and streets (yes, streets) that have been vacated by the city.
• Plenty of housing stock that needs significant renovation or needs to be demolished.
• Increased days on market over the last 365 days.  
• Highest increase in property taxes in Bexar County

All of these items are creating a perfect storm to end up upside down on a property or find yourself sitting on flip project you can't sell because the market has plateaued and now you're overpriced.  

@Tanya Lechner you mention 919 N. Pine, but that property was actually two fully renovated houses sold as a pair. This was not noted in MLS due to some issues with the lender, and the buyer needing it to be reflected as one home. $313/sf is not an accurate reflection of the Price Per Square Foot (PPSF) in Dignowity, and most good appraisers will see it as an anomaly and throw it out or reach out to the listing agent to get the full story.

I renovated and sold the next highest sold comp: 819 Dawson @ $200/SF.   I think the $200/sf to $220/sf (depending on size) is a much more realistic PPSF for the area.  That being said, I still think it's over-inflated given the factors mentioned above. 

Another factor to consider in the area is there is a lot of new development, most on micro-lots with zero yard and minimal outdoor space.  While this is lucrative for developers, I think it's going to be difficult for these homeowners to resell due to limited space and the fact that they've purchased at the height of the market.  

There are definitely good things happening in this area, but it's a long way away from being a stable neighborhood.  And when you think about it in the context of other rapidly appreciating neighborhoods adjacent to downtown (Tobin Hill, Lavaca, etc.), I can't justify a similar PPSF when these other neighborhoods don't have the same challenges this one has.  

I am sure the opposite can be argued, but for me, I will sit on the sidelines until Dignowity calms down a bit. 

@Ray Minjarez 

David Gardner @ Movement Mortgage is closing conventional loans for my clients in as little as 10 days.  That's a real leg up in the seller's market.  I'll PM you with his info. 

@Jason Malabute

Depending your investment strategy school district may be incidental.  I have never purchased a property because of the school district, nor have I ever decided not to purchase a property because of the school district.  Sure it's a factor, but a deal is a deal. If the price is right relative to my criteria (including school districts), then I pull the trigger. 

I agree with @Michael Guzik, the individual schools are definitely more important (at least to end buyer/tenant) than the district itself.  

As for Boerne ISD and Randolph Field ISD, you kinda picked some random ISDs.  Boerne is a rapidly growing and appreciating suburb is San Antonio.  There is a lot of money there and a lot more heading that way.  As you can imagine, where there's money, there's good schools.   There is no Randolph ISD, so I will assume you're asking about Randolph Field ISD?  This school district only serves students located on Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, which means it's extremely small. They do have a few students that are "non-resident" students, but it's not many, and I wouldn't base my investment strategy off of this ISD.  

Northside ISD is considered another good school district, and Northeast ISD has some good school in it.    Plenty of other good school districts. Even San Antonio ISD has some great magnet schools.  

Alamo Heights ISD is located in the San Antonio-New Braunfels MSA.  Falls City is located in Karnes County, and not considered part of the MSA.    

I hope this info helps.  Give a shout if your need more in depth info.

@Manolo D.  

The trust document I use was developed by a paralegal and I fill it out myself.  Trusts are generally not filed with the state or at the local courthouse (at least in Texas).  The document resides with the Trustee.  You can be both the Trustee and the Beneficiary for the Trust if you want.  Depending on what we plan to do with the trust we may file an "assumed name" under the trust name.  This is usually so we can accept money and deposit checks into a bank account without opening a specific account just for the trust.