All Forum Posts by: Bryant T.

Update. Just so folks are aware, I called my contractor, explained to him what the Comptroller said and encouraged him to call himself. He did and agreed. I genuinely believe he didn't know and from his explanation he was confusing sales tax vs. income tax. Either way, he excluded the tax and he's delivering quality work for a fair price. He's now in my rolodex for future projects! Cheers!

Thanks all. Yeah, it seems pretty cut and dry and while he's actually NOT been too shady (aside from this sales tax)..aka he's on time, on budget (with reasonable pricing), and doing B/B+ work, so I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt, he's just not sure, BUT will triple check by calling the Comptroller.

Hi All,

I got an estimate for rehab work on my Duplex in Texas and the contractor is claiming Sales Tax ~8% on the labor. Is this allowable? My gut says no and apparently so does the Comptroller of TX:

"Labor to repair, remodel, or restore residential real property is not taxable. Residential real property means family dwellings, including apartment complexes, nursing homes, condominiums, and retirement homes."

Source:https://comptroller.texas.gov/...

Seems pretty cut and dry, but wondering if I'm missing something.

Thanks in advance!

Hi BP Fam,

I am looking to step up to the next level beyond 2-4 units and dabble in the 5+, which means I can't go conventional or even hard money. What options are there? I've been reading up on Commercial Real Estate Loans, but the biggest question is how to find a lender that can/will:

1) Lend lower amounts $100-150k+

2) Not require me to have been a investor for 5+ years (just started a year ago)

3) Require 2 years of tax returns as a business..my partnership is less than a year old

4) Not require full occupancy..i've found a building that has 5 out of 6 units rented and another that 4 out of 6. 

I see the big banks but they all have minimums of $750k loan limits and the hard money lenders want 2+ years of 5+unit MF management experience...

Any ideas? I have my eye on a few..

Thanks,
Bryant

Thanks Mark! Fair points. We're doing some independent checks to verify zoning and risks. I rezone huge commercial properties / land developments, so I'm very familiar with those same headaches, so how bad could a duplex be? ;)

 Sure. Travis, Bell, and McLennan Counties are where I'm looking at. 

Hi BP family, looking at a quadplex that's officially zoned as a duplex. Should I be concerned? I suspect someone in the past (may not even be the current seller) converted it from a duplex to a quadplex, which might explain the lower property taxes. While I'm hopeful I won't get reappraised on sale (at least not immediately), I did plan for full blown property taxes at/near my sale price. 

I looked at other quadplexes (on and off market) and a few of them are not zoned exactly to what they are offering, but it's not like a duplex that's zoned as SFR, so not sure if the county doesn't "care" as long as it's MF zoned and not a SFR that was converted to a MFR.

Thanks in advance!

 Thanks Trent. Yeah, at my budget, I'm not going to be able to get A/B neighborhoods with solid cashflow. Gotta start somewhere. Thanks for your opinion!

 Thanks William. It does help. the numbers only tell you so much. It's nice to have folks local there give their .02. For me, I'm definitely looking for cashflow first, then appreciation and I plan to hold 5+ years. I know because of the area, some property managers won't service the area. Do you have any recommendations for property management that will manage properties in 43211?

Hi Locals!

Newbie to investing but always had my eye on Columbus. Based on my price point, (sub-$150k), a lot of SFR/MFR show up in South Linden (South of Hudson but north of 17th). From Trulia, the area is not great, but I guess from a locals point of view, I'd love to know what folks think about the future of the area. I don't mind owning in a C- area or even D+ if we think the area can be a C+/B- in a few years. I'm buying for cashflow and a few properties I have my eye on cashflow well, but I'm also accounting for longer vacancies to find a better tenant and bumping up maintenance reserves.

Would love folks opinions on that area and I realize they're just opinions and nobody can truly predict what will happen. 

Thanks in advance!