All Forum Posts by: Jade S.

Owner financing is the bomb, if you can negotiate it. I was able to secure a 70% LTV seller financed note with a 10 year term on my recent commercial office acquisition. Compared to even a friendly local bank, the owner financed route saved a ton of time and loan costs.

I certainly have no dog in this hunt, and I certainly hope Houston is stronger than it appears.  But like anything else, good due diligence is mandatory on a market before buying.  Here are a few of the articles I was referring to in the commercial office space, which is where I have an interest:

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2017/02/28...

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2017/02/21...

http://www.chron.com/business/real-estate/article/...

https://communityimpact.com/houston/spring-klein/d...

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/2...

I've noted multiple articles in National Real Estate Investor and BizJournal about the declining demand in retail and office spaces in Houston.  But have you considered other markets, such as Dallas? 

@James Rader Whichever option you choose, it sounds like you will want to employ a PM.  If you end up deciding to work with a brokerage that does PM work as well, you could see if the PM has investors they know that might be looking to divest property holdings.  Another critical point: please interview and vet the hell out of the PM company to make sure you are on the same page, and that they have a good reputation.  And just because a turnkey operation will offer PM services, or hand you off to one they work with, you've still gotta do a lot of due diligence.  The mantra of "guilty until proven innocent" is superbly applicable in real estate.  

Interfering with the free market by government doesn't typically turn out in the manner intended.  In many cases, the intended beneficiaries quite often end up paying the largest price.  These politicians would do well to consider the words of Milton Friedman: "One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results".  

@Ryan Easley Congrats! And you "due" that diligence well! Hopefully they are gonna be little cash flow machines.

@Terry Hughes...After all the discussions of the downturn in the oil market, and other real estate articles about increased vacancies in the commercial space (multifamily and office) in Houston, are you seeing an uptick in foreclosures in that market in other areas? 

@Derek Robinson...I'm in the process of acquiring a commercial property in Greer, midway between Greenville and Spartanburg.  The Upstate area and its growth has been attractive to me given the long term potential of further economic development.  Spartanburg has certainly been making some strides to "clean up" and revitalize in its CBD. 

Like @Brandon Hall said...the tax advice and guidance are priceless.  As someone with a full time W-2 career, a rental portfolio, and other deals I'm spending time on...a good CPA is a full member of my investment team.  Easy call to make.