All Forum Posts by: Luciano A.

@Cody Malave

If I were to give advice to a younger person who is just starting out I would say stop analyzing and start taking action. A typical newbie starts out investing and using FHA as house hack or conventional with 20% down then Id say KISS...Keep It Simple Silly (PG version). Buy the first 10 under your own name if you have a good W2. You will get best rates and terms on a 30 yr fixed. Invest time in finding a good insurance agent who can give you good policies that will protect your assets and yourself. Add Umbrella policy for the extra layer of protection. Forming an LLC or Living Trust or any other method that gets tossed around is waste of time and money. Most of your rentals will not have much equity so most attorneys will not bother.

In current RE climate it will take time to pay yourself a wage so you can quit your job so dont worry about how to pay yourself if you have yet to generate cashflow. That will take time and by then you will have developed so much more knowledge by doing than reading most books. 

I would advise you to stop analyzing and take action. Learn to find deals, negotiate and the other half of the equation will be easy to figure out. Go through the process of buying and locating deals. Let the money pile up in your account then figure out how things work from there.

Best of luck and hope you crush it in 2020.
  

@Troy Egar

Welcome to Houston. I too was overwhelmed by Houston when I first moved here but after awhile it became easier to digest. What price point are you looking at? Are you looking to self manage or contract out? Are you looking for rehab or turnkey? 

Some items when looking:

If you are looking at 3/2 SFR consider school district.

Look to see if they are in any flood zones as that can whip out your cashflow in some cases. 

Tax rates can be higher because of school districts so reassess at purchase price as taxes will be going up to sales price.

Take your time. Not alot of cashflowing deals on turnkey properties at this time. 

Something to do on a Sunday is pull a bunch of properties you think are priced well and drive around those neighborhoods. This will help you to hone down on an area of town. 

I own all over Houston so cant really say which area is better given I dont know your investment goals or tolerance.

One last suggestion go to local meetups to listen to what others are doing.

Best of luck 

I guess I'm old school because when I started in real estate I was taught when selling or renting out a property the idea is to attract as many people to the property as possible. Keep it neutral so it can fit all different taste preferences. If the home has characteristics that you feel might attract a certain type of buyer than show that off in pics and in description of the property. Let the buyer choose if it is for them or not.

@Vlady Gavi

Welcome to BP. Great community of people who enjoy talking real estate. Question for you, do you current own or rent? How old are your kids? If you currently own maybe you can rent out your house and go buy yourself another house with the mindset that you will be renting it out in about a year. This way you can qualify for FHA with I think they require 3.5-5% down. You can update this house while you are living there. The first house you can rent with very little headaches and maintenance since you should already know what issues house has thus can fix before renting out. In a few years if market is still in upswing you can refi and pull money out to go and buy with the additional funds. But I have learned you can only do so much by yourself. Having other like minded individuals around you will help keep you moving forward.

I ask how old your kids were because I did this while my kids were in elementary school. Id buy rentals each year and one I would move into and fix up while living there. IT is not easy but if you have a supporting partner and young kids you can get through with it and build equity. Would not suggest doing with teenagers as you will get tired of hearing if the house is done yet.lol

Best of luck. 

@Jaden Adams

You are bright and I’m sure will make the right decision. But consider this..... Real Estate is the in thing right now. What if market does correction in 2020. I know a lot of RE agents who got hurt in the last crash. Banks stopped lending, people stopped buying or trying to sale with no prospects. I was one of the weird guys still buying while most were on the side lines.

Semester is almost over. Why not look on Groupon for online RE agent courses at super discounted prices. Knock it out during break so u can take state exam for your license early next semester. Use the Spring/Summer semesters to explore getting your hands dirty. If RE is a calling then jump in and go for it. If not get business degree, maybe accounting so you can read P/L statements, learn the lingo of RE and maybe do on the side while getting an education. College degree doesn’t equate to success or career but at least you will have a backup if RE has correction which it will just don’t know when.

@Elton Williams

Howdy fellow Houstonian. Great to see you are starting young. Let me know what area of town you reside on as I'm about to start building another SFR and another builder buddy got one up in the air. Got things going in Sunnyside and East End. Between myself and partners you can get some advice and see first hand new construction and it's process as well as rehabbing multi-family. Where are you going to college?

@Saud Alduweesh

I wouldn’t say I’m apposed to all cash. I have paid off many of my properties. However, in RE one of the benefits is being able to do writes thus on paper can show a loss but in reality you made money. I’d say go for it, buy in all cash but make sure you have great insurance. Attorneys are able to lookup to see if a property is free and clear. A paid off investment property has less protection than a homestead. I’d highly recommend you speak with a good attorney/cpa before you invest. Buying is the easy part.

I wish property taxes go down. In this up market it only goes up. Properties that I bought back in 2006-2010 were some of the cheapest in Houston. I now pay on some triple the original tax amount.

New construction or Neighborhoods start at low assessment but you will eventually pay close to sales price if not more.

@Saud Alduweesh

If you choose to go all cash make sure you have good insurance protection. Also stay under $200k for rental. Suburbs have cheaper prices than inside the loop but the school taxes/HOA can eat up alot of the cash flow. Buying new is not always a great idea because the cash flow can be whipped out once tax office reassess your property so be careful of that when you are evaluating a property. And look at Flood Map.

If you wanted new so you dont have to have CapX for a couple of years then look at properties going up on 290 (Cypress/Hockley/Waller) or 288 south. Both are booming and new subdivisions are popping up. Make sure to have a great investor mindset realtor. 

Best of Luck

@Greg Dickerson

Hello Greg. Are you seeing commercial loans in the low 4s right now? Is this through a broker or your local community banker?

Thanks

@Matthew Anderson

I’ve bought many properties with inherited tenants. To combat the way the previous landlord ran things what I do is use my in house property management company to send a introductory letter. Informing them we have taken the property over and here is how we handle rents, late fees, repair requests etc. This letter sets the ground work that a new sheriff is in town. If you are moving in DONT tell them you are the owner. If you have then just make sure you have read up on the do’s and donts of your RE laws.

Get going on fixing items you found wrong in your walk through. Work on simple things like paint, wood rot showing tenants you are serious and want them to be respectful of their units.

Unless the guy is in construction and you want to hire him to help out don’t let him do any modifications.

Congrats on the purchase and best of luck