All Forum Posts by: Marian Smith

@Tariq B. Sounds like the only way she can keep all 7 cats and rent is to remain at your place. Cats are not children. Institute a 1 pet policy (which means two because she will hide one) . Let her choose 7 cats and homeless or give up 5. Her choice. That is not unreasonable. Unreasonable is expecting to be able to house 7 cats in a small multiunit rental. Does she have family? Maybe they need a cat or 6.

Maybe the city has a pet ordinance to back you up.

@Curt Bixel Minwax has or had a product that was like their polyshades, so a colored topcoat but it doesn't penetrate, didn't appear to, so it wears off in traffic areas. My brother used it on his floors. Bad idea. The container said it was recommended by Bruce or some big name. The industry standard for refinishing, I would think, would be to sand, stain, topcoat. I believe that Minwax product was intended to recoat the original finish...like a screen and topcoat...colored to camouflage scratches and even out the irregularities but match the original floor so if it wears off it isn't noticeable. Your guy took a shortcut. I would think the term "refinish" can be defined and you got a "refurbish," which is different.

@Dave Kay I am assuming you will rent out a bedroom or two. Who do you see yourself living with? And where will you work? I would consider Parmer east of I35 for house affordability and as kind of central to tech jobs (Parmer and up Parmer to Domain then further up to Apple)...but I think many of those jobs pay well enough for an apartment to be affordable and apartments are abundant around the east side. Years ago I bought an almost new washer/dryer set from a young lady selling her house in Hutto after her boyfriend moved out. She told me she couldn't get anyone to room with her because of the drive. She couldn't afford the house on her own. What jobs are there in Kyle or Leander? Leander has a train station so that might help attract a roommate. suburbs are for families imo.

@Matt Darak Some apartment complexes have a policy allowing tenants to pay a fee to terminate their contract...2 months rent or one month and the deposit

@Dylan Braun sounds like a plan. refinance before you move out to get the lowest possible rate. only take cash out if the property will still cashflow at the higher loan balance. if your hoa takes care of exteriors then maybe use 5% annual expenses to come up with a cashflow number. But it kind of doesn't matter as you are unlikely to sell and buy something with better numbers. Renting out what you already own usually makes the most sense. Just keep credit card balances low in case you need to charge repairs.

@Diana Martinez Haste makes waste. There is no compelling reason for you to buy now, especially in this economic environment. Yes, employment rates are improving and things appear to be normalizing but the eviction moratorium is still in effect and the fed has said rates will remain low for at least a year (why? to ward off a recession). Keep looking, but only swing at a fat pitch. Real estate cycles. Every time you feel you are missing out remember you could also be buying at the top. Ever heard of the term "bring money to the table?" There were times in Austin when some sellers brought money to closing because the sales proceeds did not fully cover the loan payoff. It has been a while but if it happened once it could happen again. Real estate is probably the only sector doing well. Wait for a fat pitch.

Your best bet might be to take your purchase price and multiply by .023 or so.  city  There are homestead and other exemptions that only apply to o/o...so maybe 25$ month per 100k discount for owners.  outside the city there are often mud taxes so you can have tax rates up to 2.6% or maybe higher in golf course newer areas.  Adds up.  Also, the state web site has an insurance board or something calculator for insurance.  Lot values are high in town so calculating insurance based on purchase price comes out high.

@Christine Sierra Best advice. Sister in laws parents told us having one rental property isn't worth the hassle, you need 3 to make it worth your while. Now they didn't say run out and buy three but I have found that adding a couple more forced me to create a systematic approach. A pm here in town personally uses 15 year mortgages so I refinanced our first into a 15 year and bought the rest using 15 year notes. I don't think that is necessarily the best method for young people but for someone nearing retirement it is a good way to create an income stream in a shorter time.

Bad advice was me telling someone not to buy a house as prices had gotten too high...they're higher now. (but you do make your money on the buy.)

@Dave Kay Read the rooms wanted listings on craigslist. People who rent rooms want on the bus line or a short commute to downtown or UT...or maybe Domain. There are not enough jobs in Leander unless you want to share space with a 22 year old Cinemax employee. Everyone else can afford their own bathroom, if not apartment. Suburbs are for families. Just IMO. Duplexes work everywhere, renting by the room is not that common for a reason.

@Johnathan Walton You may want to reflect on worse case scenarios. And reserves. Think of yourself as an insurance guy estimating the likelihood of a fire or earthquake and how much "premium" is needed to cover the disaster. In your case it is job loss, yours or tenants, unethical tenant during moratorium, in California pretty much any unethical tenant, and then the usual. Last downturn there was a Cali investor profiled in the paper here in Texas who had a washer hose burst and flood the interior of a pretty new rental sfh. While Investor waited on insurance the tenant moved out (said place was uninhabitable due to water but probably also found somewhere cheaper) so now she had deductible and mortgage and pm fees to manage rehab. Paper said she didn't have the money to move forward (or chose not to move forward more likely) and the bank ended up foreclosing. You need to pay down debt so you can build reserves. Being very thorough in vetting your tenants can greatly reduce risk, but vacancy creates urgency without reserves. You really need reserves...or a line of credit (credit card) starting out but not sure if you can charge mortgage. reserves allow you to sleep well.