All Forum Posts by: Jason Grote

Very nice Gary!  You put a lot of thought and effort into the finished product. Hope it works out to be a very profitable investment for you.

Hi @Seth Evans , fellow investor here in Buda.  I think you picked a great area to target for your investments.  Give me a call sometime if you would like to talk RE in this area.  Wish you the best!

-Jason Grote

Hail from Buda! Welcome Russell to BP and the world of REI. Hope everything goes well with your license and you hop on the fast track. Absorb all you can from the podcasts and forums.

@Shane Woods , thanks for tagging me!  @Jay Hinrichs , I think has the perfect mailing strategy.  This is the same concept we discovered some time ago, but really have never used it to its fullest extent here in Austin because of our website leads.  

With the website, I can't share too much because Austin is so highly competitive, but you have to get your website to rank on the search engines and then your site has to convert to leads.  Website SEO costs a lot of money, and what is learned through trial and error is worth a lot of money.  Equally as important is how you handle the leads when they come in.  If they don't like the way you handle them, they will simply go to the next company on the search engine since they know where to find them.  Hope that helps...

@Bryan Byrnes Here is a link from a thread a couple of months ago that hits home to our area in Buda/Kyle.  Let me know if you have any specific questions... If you send me your address through PM, I could give you my opinion on the rental rate.

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/131643-where-in-austin-around-200k

Thank you @Jon Klaus & @Lynn Currie , here are my thoughts:

I personally think Kyle is a great upcoming area for buy n hold.  As rookies, we bought 4 rental properties in Kyle back in 2008, but because the market was bad in 2010 and I did a terrible job managing them, we had sold them off by 2011.  I wish we would've held on...   

With the large influx of people coming to Austin, Kyle has been very appealing because of it's short commute to Austin.  It is certainly a growing city with no signs of slowing down.  As far as vacancy rate, I can't give you any solid numbers, but when we look for rentals for other people, they do not last long on the market.  The rental market in the greater Austin area is just insane right now.  Now, if the market cools off considerably, a city like Kyle will more than likely go flat, but I don't see it taking a hit anytime in the near future.  

Two high schools in Kyle, Hays & Lehman. Hays is the more desirable, and its "jurisdiction" is basically the West side of I-35.  The west side of I-35 has always had the more desirable neighborhoods and usually cost a little more.  

Hope that helps!

@Deanna Stark, since the "B" party is typically making the profit, the costs of closing will come from the proceeds that "B" would receive.  This is the way I have it set up anyhow when I do a double closing.  It is also important to note that in Texas if the Seller "A" pays for the title policy, that you will have to purchase 2 title policies, but if "B" pays for the title policy, then he can transfer it to the "B-C" transaction.  Hope that helps!

You should have a real estate agent from each market. If the San Antonio agent doesn't have access to the Central Texas MLS or ABOR MLS, then she cannot really serve you in those areas.

Welcome @Gregory Casey from South Austin! Hope your time here helps you get on track with your goals. See you around!

@Jerry Gates I recommend Buda (78610) or north Austin (78758). Kyle is overbuilt and has been for years, when the market draws back, Kyle always loses its value. That being said, it probably will be a good long-long term investment, but Buda has had much more control on its growth which has driven its prices up. However, at $200k, you can find plenty in Buda. Hope that helps!