All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

You could take a line against the property free of charge, with a really low rate rate, somewhere in the high 3's, but in Texas I believe you can only take 50% of the value on a line.

You could also take a cashout refinance up to 80% LTV and use the 80% to buy additional rentals.

Since you are making money from the rental and your area is appreciating (most of Texas is), I would take the 80% cashout and buy additional rentals. If you sell now, I think you might be losing out. 

Originally posted by @Joe Ramirez:

Hi all,

Just wondering if this is common practice or my bank is trying to pull a fast one. A few months ago I put in an offer that was accepted by the seller. As such, my lender (Chase) started the actual application process. After the inspection revealed big structural issues, I withdrew my offer. However, Chase has not refunded my $655 application fee. I am currently in contract with another property and Chase has charged another $655. Is this normal? Should I really be charged for the deal that did not go through? 

Any info would be much appreciated! Thanks all!

I work for Bank Of America and we have no application fee. We only charge

the card for an appraisal and a credit report fee. If you have not received a GFE in the mail and confirmed that you want to proceed, then nothing is charged to your card. This fee sounds really high. If they wont refund this, in the future I would consider using a different bank if I were you. Bank Of America can only not refund the customer once the appraisal is COMPLETED.

Rent in my area for my same house is $1600. I pay $1,100 PITI per month for my mortgage that's a savings of $500 minus exenses. I've put essentially $4,000 + DP and closing cost into the property = $14,000.

The house could easily be sold for $185,000, I purchased for $130,000. We are looking to sale fairly soon, I owe around $120k.

This means, I will have made roughly $47k on my primary. Yes it can definitely be an investment. Blanket statements are stupid and they always will be. For some people, it is not investment, but it depend on the numbers. 

Originally posted by @Jessica G.:

Originally posted by @Drey Taylor:

@Jessica G. Did you close?  How did the final numbers end up?  What role do you think staging played in the listing?

Oh, and I think the staging helped a LOT. The house looked great with just $500 worth of rental furniture and IKEA knicknacks, and the MLS photos were amazing. Furniture made the bedrooms look bigger and defined the combo living/dining spaces. Even though we were priced a little ambitiously, we had tons of showings and a quick offer.

Awesome job! I love the rehab ya'll did!

I'm in Roanoke, Tx currently hunting for my first deal. Good luck neighbor!

Originally posted by @Donald Boone:

Paul Crowson Lance Spencer Interesting topic. I actually work for EM in Fairfax, VA and will be relocating to Conroe (just purchased my home) in 2015.

I may be able to help provide some insight into the corporate relocation and also dispell some of the myths out there. As an example, although they're building the campus in The Woodlands, the majority of individuals actually already live in Houston, while myself and ~1,500 others in VA will truly be packing up and moving to TX.

That said, I'll be moving next year and looking to invest and find partners, both accountability and beyond.

 Donald,

I was aware of this, but with 10k jobs moving in, this means a lot more commerce in the area which means jobs which typically translates into housing demand. I don't believe property prices are going to soar, but this definitely points to strong appreciation and demand IMO. Traffic on the North side of the Woodlands towards Conroe can be brutal during rush-hour, and housing is cheap in Spring Compared to the Woodlands and Conroe. 

For instance, I just searched on the MLS (I'm not an agent but have a friend) as well as HAR, and Zillow and there really is nothing for sale in Conroe other than mobile homes, trashed foreclosures and lots for under 90k. To me this means there should be a strong opportunity to flip properties in the Spring market specifically. Especially the NE side of 45.

My sister bought a house there in 2012 (perfect timing) for 150k (foreclosure). Gated community, 2 stories, 2500 Sq feet and gorgeous. She could probably sell for 210k based on comps in the current market.

Originally posted by @Todd Shampoe:

I am a new rehabber in Spring, Tomball the Woodlands, Texas looking for the following properties.
3 bed 2 bath, 12-1400 square feet, must be in either Tomball, Klein, or Woodlands school ISD. Fast close all cash, properties 65K or less prefer 45K-55K.

 Are you finding a lot of properties in this price range worth flipping? Based on my research of the area, you have to spend around 75-90 asking in order to actually have enough room for a substantial profit? I have been very interested in the Spring market as the new Exxon HQ is coming in March 2015 which should boulster demand. 

The good thing about Spring is the fairly low purchase price range, the bad thing is schools and certain areas are on the rough side.  I have about 35k cash to work with, leaning towards hard money lending. 

I'm currently researching properties in Spring, Tx to flip. I'm trying to find the right deal as Exxon is moving in March 2015. Demand should increase with 10k jobs coming to the area.

How are you funding your deals currently?

Are you still working on trying to sell this property? I would be interested to know any details that you would be willing to share.

I am financially prepared to flip and or buy and hold the property.

Keith Gray yes, leasing the property would count against you on dti (I'm a loan officer). The only time you could use proposed rental income is if you have history of renting properties for at least 2 years which would show on your schedule E on tax returns. I live in Roanoke, Tx and I'm pretty familiar with several different markets in the North Dallas area. I could take a look on Zillow and let you know what I think, send me the address. Me and my wife have been looking for properties in the 250-300k range.

At my bank, the house you will be buying would have to be bigger than your current property as the new house would be considered an investment property which requirers 20% down and a higher interest rate. Owner occupied properties always have to be considered upgrades if purchased in the same area. The other poster, said dti on both mortgages, this is correct at least at Bank Of America which is my employer. If you have rental history of 2 years showing on your 1040's, the underwriter will allow rental income from the current property. Also, keep in mind the "buy and bail" rule which is going to require assets for mortgages payment for both properties for 6 months. This can be a big sum of cash.