All Forum Posts by: Kristina Modares

Hi everyone!

I own a rental home in Mableton, Georgia and I recently received a letter from my insurance company that said "foundation has cracking/missing foundation. Debris under screened porch" and that I have one month to address.

Is this normal? The property is livable, will all insurance companies also require to fix the foundation? I tried to get in touch with the inspector they hired but the insurance agent won't allow it. Any feedback would be appreciated, thank you! 

I'd love to help you out! I grew up around the area--Marietta/Roswell and know a few great people who could help. I tried to message you but am out of the country, so it wouldn't go through for some reason. Feel free to shoot me an email.

@Karen Margrave Wow, that's crazy that they suggested you go that route. The county suggested adding rooms "illegally, but wouldn't consider rewording to make it ok in the laws eyes...weird. One of my friends opened a hostel here in Austin. The city made him jump through so many hoops...I'm pretty sure it took him about a year to get licensed. He wanted to be a legitimate and legal business but it would have been a lot easier to start off hosting without permits. He almost gave up but the city came through last minute. 

@Brad Shepherd @Karen Margrave @Karmen Kiler Thank you, for all of the info! I've been trying to get more stats on the local Austin airbnb market. It would be interesting to know the percentage of "illegal" airbnb listings. I read an article that said in New York in 2014 72% of listings were illegal. I think with more regulations, people will continue hosting, it will just be done illegally. 

Originally posted by @Karen Margrave:

@Kristina Modares I wanted to let you know that we have a forum dedicated to Short Term and Vacation Rentals. Many of the members set up keyword alerts, so when posting on something like this, try to get in some of the other keywords that might apply to your subject and you might get more responses. 

Also, you might try doing a search of the topic. I know there's been a lot discussed about Aribnb on Biggerpockets, podcasts, and blogs. Good luck, and have fun! 

 Thank you, Karen! I have not been on BP for a while, I'm out of the loop, ha. I tried looking up a few things on google but I found old articles and on BP I didn't see an in depth discussion about airbnb in Austin. I'll look a little more and maybe post this in a better forum category. I appreciate the suggestions! 

Hi everyone!

I'm a realtor in Austin and I've always been a huge supporter of Airbnb. I work with a lot of millennial's and I often tell clients who are open to the idea, to use airbnb to help with their mortgage payments. Many people want to use their rental strictly as an airbnb property. 

What are the current laws and regulations in Austin? 

Thank you! 

Originally posted by @Will R.:

@Kristina Modares It will be hard to find a friend that good. If they cosign with you, it will cripple their DTI. Maybe you could find a friend that would be willing to split a duplex with you. Buy it together and do a condo conversion. That would be a cleaner transaction and they could later sell their portion and not affect you.

I agree with @Bryan Hancock on zip codes. I have a house in 02 that I cleaned up that has neighbors selling for $2M. That area is long gone and is only good for new construction at this point. Also, check out the area just east of St Eds. There are affordable duplexes over there. 

 Thanks Will! That is what my lender told me to do--get a friend who could act as a roommate but help by cosigning. I have found duplexes to be hard to find but I still look out for them. I think realistically, I will have to go further east than 02...yet, for 300 I have found a few. 

I have a family member with a lot of cash and somebody also suggested asking them to help fund me and I would pay them mortgage payments. 

Originally posted by @Bryan Hancock:

The prices in those zip codes are getting pretty high right now.  I know; we're building 36 units there right now.  You'll probably need to look in 78721 to find housing with numbers in your price range.  

If you intend to live in the project finding a partner may not be the best approach.  Do you have a family member that can cosign or help out?  It sounds like you got decent advice from your lender.  

Thank you! I've been looking on the MLS almost everyday to stay updated with those zip codes and I know it would be harder to find a single family for that price--but I have seen a handful in the 250-300 range. And yes, my lender is great! My family will probably not be my best option. She told me to approach a friend to see if I paid the downpayment, they would be willing to co-sign and live in the home as well.

I live in Austin and am looking to buy a single family in central east austin when my lease is up in November. I talked to a lender today and gave her a general idea of my current situation. In the zip codes I am looking in (78702, 78721) I think I would need about 240-300 and I have 20 in savings. Because a lot of my income is commission based, she told me that I would not be able to get a loan for that amount. I want to live in the home and rent out the remaining rooms and I know I can afford the payments from the general estimate she gave me. The lender told me I should find somebody to co-sign with me. I would really like to do this on my own but I am also adamant in staying as close as I can to DT Austin. What kind of deal should I work out if I approach this through a partnership with a friend/colleague? 

You did such a great job! Love it. 

Originally posted by @Jon Klaus:

it was a 1950's rancher/modern on a corner lot with a few big (protected) trees. 

We had to keep the original foundation/footprint in order to be grandfathered.

We built a duplex about twice the size of the original home.

Each side is close to 1900SF

Kitchens sell homes

Bathrooms help sell, too. 

This is in east Austin. Sold for about 900k a few months ago.