All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

@Andrey Y. Florida has some of the most retirement-friendly tax laws in the USA, so that "silver tsunami" chart has me thinking "yes."

It seems that people working office gigs downtown are expected to get back to business as usual as early as Monday. All the plants along the coast (Pasadena, Texas City, Baytown, La Porte) have steady work, and people with industrial jobs get back on the job ASAP because it's a no-work no-pay model. People are definitely back at work in the plants even if their families are in shelters or out of town. Investors looking to aid the blue-collar industrial region should look along the main industrial thoroughfares: Hwy 146, Interstate 10, and Hwy 225.

Dickinson is in a hole at about sea-level and it gets destroyed every time there is a situation like this where a big storm carries a high-tide in with it. Lots of blue-collar industrial workers live there because the lots are pretty, the land is cheap, and it has easy access to 146. Definitely a big need for housing recovery help there.

Friendswood is a really nice suburb with lots of amenities and it got flooded pretty bad. It has a great school district. Taxes there are higher than surrounding areas.

I'll know more when I get home next week.

I'm not as familiar with the west side. Would someone else like to chime in?

Perhaps you should be looking for a REI knowledgeable tax advisor instead of a financial planner. One thing to consider with "fix and flip" is that you will pay a much heavier tax burden turning properties you have held for less than a year. Short-term and long-term gains are taxed differently. Holding for a year also opens up the possibility of using 1031 exchanges to fund future purchases.

It may also be tough to move recently flooded properties with the memory of the flood so fresh in everyone's minds. Fix and rent (with professional property management in place) may be a smarter choice. Of course, it all comes back around to deal-funding. On that note, Houston has one of the most active Angel Investor networks in the country. It is also possible to borrow against a 401k or IRA to fund real estate purchases, up to a certain limit.

Of course, Houston is in serious need of "fix and flip" right now. Everyone just wants to get back to business as usual, and the faster these flooded homes can be gutted, dried out, brought up to code, and made move-in ready, the sooner people will be able to get their lives back to some kind of normalcy. I think most of us are still in shock.

Hey. Thanks a bunch!

Hi. I am a native Houstonian with a strong interest in investing in small apartment complexes. So far I have been focusing on self-education and have yet to do my first deal. I really want to seize this opportunity to simultaneously aid recovery in my community and launch myself into active real estate investing. I would welcome an opportunity to begin working with someone knowledgeable about apartment investing in my own back yard. If a team is put together to aid Houston through this apartment recovery-and-readiness avenue I would love to get on board. I know the Houston area intimately; I am highly motivated; I learn quickly; and as a former military member, I take instruction well. I have also seen plenty of flood-damage first-hand. I would love to gain experience putting together financing, learning systems, and organizing teams to properly repair the damage up to code in order to get quality rental units market-ready ASAP because there is a real need. My primary area of interest is C+ or better small multifamily rentals inside the 610 loop.

I also feel it is important to add that all of these communities have created grassroots organizations to "manage gentrification" in order to prevent the cultural histories from being erased. Many people who live in these areas come from families who have been here for generations. 

Awesome! When and where?  (Edited to add: Top of the page. Found it. Oops.)

Folks looking to invest in 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Wards, please read up on the history of these areas so that you can get a feel for them. Run some Google Searches and find some Houston Chronicle and Texas Monthly articles. Balance what you find there with info from the community redevelopment websites. Zillow and Trulia only have so much information to offer. 

Texas Monthly has described 5th Ward as "Texas' toughest, proudest, baddest ghetto." There is blues song by Juke Boy Bonner titled “Stay off Lyons Ave.” The rush in development along Lyons Ave is for the purpose of erasing its extremely bloody history.

2nd Ward is the most family friendly of the three.... because it is "policed" by your friendly neighborhood Banditos chapter whose families live there and (ironically?) do not tolerate violent crime in their own back yard. 3rd Ward (aside from the University area) is "policed" by the old gangsters because their mothers live there. The reason the Icon is adding so many beds, is because most people will pay more to have their college kids in a safe cozy building attached to the campus, with lots of cops around, because 3rd Ward is the 15th most dangerous neighborhood in the US, according to the FBI. 

All of these areas have strong and proud communities. There is so much history on the streets in these developing parts of town. Familiarize yourselves with the roots of the area. Please don't jump in blind, feet-first. Yes, gentrification is happening. Yes, it's basically unstoppable. Educate yourselves 1st, please.

Hi and welcome! It's always great to see fellow Houstonians in here.

@Bharath Raj To reach out to a University, I would begin at the "Contact Us" page for the campus you wish to speak to. There are actually two Universities in Third Ward and they're practically on top of each other: U of H and TSU. The U of H website has a convenient "Live Chat" feature on their website. I am sorry, I do not have a direct referral to offer you.