All Forum Posts by: Taylor Muell

Hi there! I just have a couple points to make based on what I've heard from others or from BP podcasts. 

1. I wouldn't price it over market just because you feel like you put the money into it. It's better to price a little lower and attract the attention of multiple buyers to create a bidding war rather than pricing too high initially. If you bought too high and put more into rehab than you wanted then it is what it is and you don't get as much profit as you hoped. Lessons learned. 

2. For the appraisal, I've heard successful investors say that they will do their own comps in advance of listing and adjust based on how an appraiser would adjust. If you read "The Book on Flipping Houses" by J Scott I believe there is a chapter on how appraisals are done. You could make a list of all the updates that were made to the house and show it to the appraiser. Maybe you just got a bad appraiser, because ultimately it is still an opinion. Have you tried having it staged? Even though it should not technically affect the appraisal, they are human and will probably feel the house is nicer when they see it well staged. 

@Sabrina Mouavangsou, yes the group is on FB! https://www.facebook.com/group...

Hi Samuel! I don't have advice for your small family deal but there is also a meetup called Central California Real Estate Investing Group out of Fresno that is really great!

Hey! I'm from Grapevine, TX which is about a 40 minute drive from Denton. Generally speaking, it is going to be very difficult to find a house that size at that price point in a good school district within a 30 minute drive to Denton. You are looking at a minimum of closer to $450,000 right now unless you find a gem. If you are okay with a smaller size house (~1,500 sq ft) you are more likely to find something. Grapevine, Keller, Argyle, and Flower Mound all have great school districts. However, there is a new build neighborhood (called Trails of Elizabeth Creek) 25 minutes from Denton that fits your price point and house size, but I can't speak to the school district, although I believe its still pretty good. I have linked the community here --> New Build Community

I agree with everyone else that $2400 seems way too high for glass shower doors and $500 for a rod?? That also seems way high. As for which option: I don't think a curtain should be used on a walk in shower but would be acceptable for the tub. Just my opinion :)

Hey there! I'm a newbie investor as well and there are a couple of REI groups that do occasional get togethers in the area. The facebook pages are called "Central California Real Estate Investing Group" (this one is out of Fresno) and "Visalia Real Estate Investing Meetup". When they do set up meetings they are usually to give an informational presentation on a topic which is really helpful but I'm also interested in finding a group that meets solely for networking purposes!

Investment Info:

Townhouse buy & hold investment.

Purchased a townhome near the beach as my first short term vacation rental! Its only been one month so not a great idea of cash flow yet.

About the earthquake insurance: that is a good point, but is also region specific. There are a LOT of major fault lines in the LA area and in the bay area and some fault lines on the eastern side of the mountains, but if you are looking in the Central Valley (Sacramento down to Bakersfield) there is very low risk in earthquake damage

I'm definitely no pro in estimating rehab costs but I'm curious about how you came up with 20K in rehab. If it is as bad as you made it sound on the inside, it sounds like you might need a lot more than $20K. And if it was built around 1900 I would want to know what kind of condition the plumbing system is in and the electrical is probably way out of code. Those are two big ticket items. New flooring and paint in the whole house is likely to cost upwards of $6,000 depending on what materials you choose. All that to say I would want to be more certain on what the rehab cost would be

Has anyone used Turnkey/Vacasa for short term rental property management? We are closing on a property soon in Myrtle Beach! If you are using or have used them, what was your experience?