All Forum Posts by: Shawn Thom

In many newer areas around Dallas you can't avoid them.  They are everywhere and in Texas, HOAs have quite a bit of power.  For the most part though,  they only have to approve exterior changes such as paint color, fences, roofing material.  I have had no issues with the few flips I've done that have HOAs.

The cons can definitely being having to get approval and mostly the wait time.  If you are ahead of the game the better.  Ask for approval early, even if you do exterior paint last, ask for permission on day1.  Also, they typically add an annual cost which buyers will watch for.

The only pro I can think of is the benefits of HOA such as pools etc. I did one in Carrollton, TX that had its own small golf course, pools, nice walking paths, camping area, stocked ponds. I didn't know it when I bought the house but that particular area was pertty well coveted because of all the benefits.

Watch for HOAs if you want to rent!  Mine started limiting rentals in the area.  Texas passed a law which limits HOAs a little, but they can still make it hard and expensive if you don't comply.

I've done pure delayed financing from a cash purchase and I have refi'd to pull my cash back out.

Different banks have different requirements.  Some require seasoning and some don't.  You just have to call around.  In my experience portfolio loans are easier to work with on this.  the rules on how much you can pull out will vary state to state as well.

Having someone on the ground that you can trust is important. 

Tell us about was is known about the rehab.  What is in the scope of that $30k stuff and what do you have firm bids on, and what do you have soft bids on if any?   What hidden things are you assuming you will have issues with?  Have you done a rehab in Texas before?

The biggest gap people have (especially if they are new), is realizing there is often hidden stuff you need to budget for, or cause and effect type of stuff that you will have to pay for.

I do not own any storage facilities but I am a customer.  To me once you get the land assuming it is zoned for such, it seems like a pretty easy thing to get started on because you can grow it as your business grows.

If I were to do it, assuming you had the land which is a hurdle, I'd start off just renting spots in a field.  Once I got some cash coming in, I'd put down some gravel and sell those spots for slightly more.  Once I got that established or all the people in the field moved over, I'd look at putting in another strip that has a gravel base and is covered.

Depending on your location and what your customers want depends on the next step.  If you are mainly a ski lake, you typically do not need power.  If you have fishing boats that use trolling motors you need power.  Once you make that decision, you could convert your covered parking into completely enclosed, or enclosed on 3 sides.  the biggest thing you want is security.  so that means camera etc.   The place I go, its just a locked fence and I have the combo.  It is fairly insecure but I don't pay much at all.  You also have to think about your lay out upfront so you can make sure people can bring trailers in and out easily and that driving area isn't taking up too much space but isn't too small they are going to hit stuff as they back up.

Storing RVs seems like a little more of a hassle.  the problem I see is that they are hooked to power all the time, people show up to work on their RV and turn on the AC etc means higher electricity.  its almost better to not offer power. I haven't thought much about storing RVs as I'm more of a boat guy. 

I didn't read every single post here.  What kind of  house is this?  High end, low end, flip, rental?

How does it look with grout.  I've seen some bad tile jobs before that seemed a little less crappy after it was grouted.  If you really looked at it you could tell tiles were off, but unless you really looked close you wouldn't notice.

I'd step back and imagine this area staged and doing some things to bring your eye some where else.  Does it still look as bad?

@Hugh Ayles  i've had the system for almost one year and in 3  houses. The only issue that I have is when I move to a new house the cellular base initially has a problem detecting the new location. That is easily solved by removing the batteries and plugging it and then plug it back in. 

 The only other issue is  The door sensors sometimes do not stick well depending on  what kind of molding have around your door.    If the molding has a lot of curves on it it is hard to get it to stick well. I reused one from a prior house and it actually fell off of the door in the middle the night. The trigger an alarm about 3 AM.  Now I pretty much just rely on the motion sensor or if I have a flatter doorjamb molding I will go ahead and use the door sensor.  I also replace all of the sticky tape that's on the door sensor and the magnet. That makes it stick better. 

 All in all I'm very impressed with the system and will continue using it and continue to suggest it to other people. 

@Adrian Smude check out my profile and my FB Link.  I am not marketing genius but I'm trying to build some stuff up on FB.  I don't currently wholesale but I'm posting as if I am so I can flip back to it if I want to.  Again, it has served me well in my flip business as well.