All Forum Posts by: Michael Florence

@Rosston Smith 

So a Schedule C is not sufficient to prove income to get a mortgage? How would the thousands of business owners in US, like me, get a mortgage to buy a house then?

@Aaron Gordy 

Thank you so much for your info! I have definitely thought about investing in RE in Austin, since the economy is good with high % of tenents renting vs buying. Also, I did a bit of research and there seems to be less natural disasters there vs other big cities in Tx like Houston and Dallas, correct me if I'm wrong. Do a lot of natural disasters like floods happen in Austin? If so, are there any tips on reducing loss if natural disasters happen on the property? 

Also, how would an out-of-state owners usually deal with damages to the property caused by tenants or natural disasters?

Thank you for all of your responses!

As I grew up in the Los Angeles greater area, the houses there have just over-inflated to prices that are way to expensive for me to invest in. This causes the rent to house price ratio to be really low, to like .5% or even lower! For example, a roughly 500K house could only make around 2500 in rental income.

Even though the property taxes here are cheaper, its really hard to find a good deal, quality house with the same prices compared to TX or other states.

In Hong Kong where I live in , the ratios are even crazier! I $1.5 million house could only rake in around $5000 in rent. So Hong Kong it's even harder for me to think about RE investment in Hong Kong since the house prices are sky high and the ratios are so low.

That's why I have been comparing different states like Washington, Florida, TX, etc to see if there would be more opportunity. 

what do you think about the real estate market in Texas compared to other states?

thank you for the advice ! I will definitely look into turnkey service more. 

Anyone?

Hi everyone!

I am new to this forum and to property investment and am interested in starting. I have been doing some preliminary research, and the real estate in Texas seems

pretty worth investing. What do you think? I am a US expat currently living in Asia and I do file my taxes with the IRS annually. I am self-employed, with reported income of thirty-something thousand.  Some questions have popped out of my head:

-Since I am self employed , does that make me harder to get a conventional mortage in any way? I have tax reports to show my income,  and my credit is in the 7 hundreds. how much is the loan amount I can get based on my income?

-since I live outside of the US would that cause a hurdle in getting a mortage in any way?

- my budget for the home is within 100k. Is there any way to get a good loan on more than 80%? 

-How long does the whole purchasing process take? Do I have to be in Texas the whole to meet in person, or can some things be partially done over the internet/phone? As I have a family to take care of, There is a limit to how long I can stay in Texas. 

-after the purchase, i am planning to use a property manager as I cannot be in Texas most of the time. Would there still be many cases where I would have to go to Texas in person to cooridare with the manager, or can all the things be done over internet/phone?

Sorry for so many questions!

Any one with opinions or have experience in investing in Texas is much appreciated. Thank so much!