All Forum Posts by: Poem Turner

@Miles Veney an early welcome to the area. Coming from Boston, you'll appreciate our winters down here, but make sure you're prepared for the summer!

I work exclusively with investors and have my own portfolio as well. Live-in flips and rehabs are my personal favorite. I have a client wrapping up a fantastic reno on a 1960s home in Crestview. I'd be happy to speak with you about the area and introduce you to some lenders who have worked with other VA clients as well as connect you with some of the contractors I refer my other clients to. Inventory is tight right now to say the least, but will hopefully loosen up over the winter.

@Scott Smith is based in Austin, but works with folks all over TX and the US. Highly recommend you speak with him and his team.

@Prasanna K. I have a lender you should speak with as well. He is a broker and their rates and fees are excellent. He handles all my investment loans and I refer him to all my clients. I'll PM you.

@Eric Li I can't speak for your area, but in Central Texas where I am I'm including a number of things in the listing that I haven't before like a floorplan (I used magicplan.app) and a video walkthrough. That lets potential tenants get a good feel for the property before coming to see it. I've also been using a screening survey to pre-qualify potential tenants before I set up any tours. This minimizes how often I'm showing the property and makes sure the folks looking are basically approved already.

Hope that helps!

@Andrew Bissada - you sound like you've got back up plans set up. Another option would be an STR by the month, assuming you don't have much furniture to move/store.

You're correct that buying a house isn't an allowable reason to break a lease, but often landlords will work with you. I often let tenants terminate a lease early when I can find a replacement tenant for the house, but that would have you liable for rent until a tenant was found.

Once you get a house under contract, you'd close within a month, so I'd say start looking being able to use that as your deadline.

Is your offer price the issue? Did you offer over asking? 

If not, this is exactly what your agent should be well versed in. The fact you're here seeking help should tell you not to use them and/or their brokerage again. Without representing you, those of us with Texas licenses can't really offer specifics on how to interact with the appraiser in this scenario.

Best of luck!

Have you ever wondered what tax appraisers consider in their valuations? Or considered protesting (one of) your tax appraisals but felt unprepared? Our next meeting will give you all the necessary tools and information to successfully navigate this annual dance with the county government. The phrase "you don't know what you don't know" has never been more applicable.

Bonus: This applies to your primary residence even if you don't own investment properties yet!

In this meeting we will cover information directly from the appraisal district's office about HOW and WHAT the appraisers use to value properties. What they consider a comparable, what they do and don't know about your property, items they don't consider, what information they are using, and so on.

We'll also discuss some best practices for protest hearings. These are a combination of the appraisal manager's recommendations and my own experience (Last year one client reduced his tax basis $81k). What to bring with you to your protest, where to collect your information, negotiation skills and more.

Tax protests are due May 15th so this will give you time to decide if you want to file a protest. You can always cancel your protest or change your proposed value, so better to get it done and you can choose not to later!

I recommend R&M electrical

So much depends on what the investors goals are. Newer HOAs in that area can be as high as $700/yr while the older homes (many of which have been rehabbed and updated or have new major systems) have no or low HOA and still rent at the same rate. It depends on your preferences for cash flow, peace of mind, risk tolerance, etc.

@Saiteja Damera You could try to track it on Zillow, but MLS is probably best for that. Those tend to rent within 2-3 weeks. I can send you more detailed info if you'd like.