All Forum Posts by: Todd Faulk

Hi @Harsh Patel , Houston is a really big market and you can find great rental areas all over.  Seeing as you are in California I assume you will be an out of state landlord.  Have you identified a local management company?  This could be critical as they will have first-hand knowledge of the markets they serve, not to mention there is no guarantee a management company will support properties in north and south markets (~60 miles apart).  

My experience is in the north Houston area and @Mitchell Benson is right, The Woodlands, Tomball, Spring and Cypress are all excellent rental areas.  Large oil companies and a lot of medical growth are supporting great rental opportunities up here.  If you are okay moving a bit farther north (Magnolia and Conroe in Montgomery County) are posied for a lot of growth.  As a matter of fact, Conroe, Texas was identified as one of the fastest growing cities in the United States.

I  hope this helps some, and good luck.

Hi Santos Gloria Interesting problem you have here. You mention you are leasing the land. Are you the owner or are you leasing it from someone else? If you’re leasing it make sure the owner of the property is OK with you doing that. If you own it and it is truly unrestricted that then you can do whatever you like (within reason). If you do not have immediate plans for the land then it could all be upside but be careful for environmental concerns (I.e. motor oil leaking on no paved surfaces, etc) I am not sure what “insurance” you have on the vacant land but you should always make sure and talk to your insurance broker to find out the specifics of your policy before committing to anything. Do you know if the owner of this company has truck stored some other place? He might be able to give you some info. When I drive around Houston I’ve seen moving trucks located on vacant land, you can always call those companies and ask them how their relationships work with the land owners. You never know, you may get someone who tells you exactly what they do how much they pay and how they structure the deal. Hope that helps.

Great post @John Claborn , I have plans to network and learn more in 2018.

@Carlos O'Neil I am not sure of the condition of Bear Creek and Canyon Gate but I have seen a lot of activity in North Harris County (Klein/Spring area).  I have personally been apart of several transactions with flood houses and there are some good opportunities for someone willing to take on a big project.  

My advice is to look in areas that did not flood previously to Harvey as I expect the value in those areas to stabilize before other more "risky" areas.  Also if you are new to flipping taking a swing at a flooded house that had 8' of water is like swinging for the fences, especially if you are considering working with flood elevation. You might hit it out of the park but there is a risk you could strike out as well.

Be sure to NOT use pre-Harvey values to run your projections on, there is too much risk in that.  I have heard anything from a 10%-30% pre-Harvey discount is expected but you will not know until things sell and it will be very location dependent.  Remember appraisers use "sold numbers" to come up with values, so if people discount the houses out of the gate things will be off to the races.

Finally, I would suggest partnering with someone who is or has done a rehab like this.  There will be many things with a flooded house that you need to consider, like AC, ducting, MOLD, electrical, etc that would normally not be a problem if it wasn't for the fact it was under 8' of water.  There are great opportunities out there but you need to go in eyes wide open.

@Brandon Davis I agree with Fred, Tomball is great and there is strong demand for properties in this area.  

As with all homes, location and price range dictates demand but overall Tomball is a highly desired area with good amenities so a well-priced property will sell.  

I am a local agent and investor in Tomball and have lived here for over 20 years, let me know if I can help answer any of your questions.  

Thanks and best of luck.

Hey, @Diondre Quinn , first off Thank You for your service, my family and I appreciate your sacrifice.  Real estate is an amazing ride and you are in the right place.  The podcast is encouraging so keep that up and reading the " Ultimate Beginners' Guide to Real Estate Investing" is a solid first step. 

Best of luck, stay safe and let me know if I can help you. 

Phillip Lirette awesome post!

Jesus Penalver are you looking for a general contractor to run the entire flip or specific trade people?

@G Pyros I am not sure what is avaliable in El Paso but I took my coursework in Houston from Champions Real Estate school (https://www.championsschool.com).  They had their act together and the instructors were all professionals in the field and I found  them to be very knowledgeable.   I believe champions is now offering some of the courses online in a virtual classroom format so you might want to give them a look.  I highly recommend you either taking a class in person or doing a video class as you will learn so much more then just studying at home in books.  I wish you the best of luck.

@Sam Bates  Awesome reply and very helpful, thanks!  

@Adam Gagne Good luck with your project..