All Forum Posts by: Stephen Beck

Check out Joni Wolfswinkel with Real Property Management Preferred. She manages my property in Spring, Texas.

College Station is going to kill the Golden Goose if they don't stop passing regulations that are hostile to short term and long term landlords...

Just my 2 cents...I have found the rent you can charge for the price you have to pay to be much better in Houston. It is very hard to make properties cash flow in College Station given the high price to low rent ratios. Meaning, you can't charge enough rent to pay for the mortgage, insurance and taxes when you are paying so much for the property. Bryan is a little better, but most of the deals that will cash flow are in less desirable neighborhoods. That said, there is definitely room for a professional wholesaler in the B/CS area.   

My tenants pay their own gas, sewer and water. I have an agreement with the city to leave the utilities on when they vacate so I can get the unit ready for the next batch of students. Then I give the new tenants a deadline to have the utilities switched to their name. Usually Aug 5th.

Also I like one payment for rent even though there are 4 room mates. It prevents one student from not paying while the others pay. You can't legally evict just the one non-paying student if all four signed the lease, you have to evict them all -  and that gets very costly and very messy! So, collect one payment each month...preferably online!

I would suggest becoming a pro member and downloading the Rent_and_Prices_by_Zip_Code spreadsheet. Choose the area where you want to invest (I prefer Texas since I live here) and then prioritize the markets that have the best appreciation and RTP (rent to price) by zipcode. Always drive an area before you buy! Beaumont and Port Arthur looked great on paper for appreciation until a real estate agent told me that the killer appreciation for the past three years has been due to all the remodeling from 2 major hurricanes in the past three years! So, the 20-50% appreciation was not organic appreciation that would continue in the future. A drive through Port Arthur confirmed that!

@Whitney Hutten mentioned College Station. The problem with College Station is that the asking prices for SFH are very high compared to the rents you can get for them. This makes cash flow a serious problem. Rents may be low because of over building of student housing - remember that your SFH will be competing with lazy rivers and indoor gyms! Also, many newer student housing has one bath to one bedroom ratios - something the students love. I like to look for areas that have a high median rent/median sales price ratios and are appreciating . That way, I have a better chance of buying a property that cash flows.

Sounds great! When is it? 

Turns out I will be here this weekend. I plan to come this evening.

Would love to join you, but I have to go out of town Friday afternoon. Thanks for the invite, though.

Stephen Beck