All Forum Posts by: Leigh Ann Smith

Hey @Chris Johnson , it's good to have another Houstonian on BP!  There are so many knowledgeable people here, and lots of great resources, too.  Look at the calculators and FilePlace, and if you haven't listened to the podcasts, you don't want to miss those. I look forward to seeing you on the forums!

Today I came across the Houston Blockshopper website.  It had some good demographic info for neighborhoods, but I question its reliability since the first "for sale" home I looked at on the site turned out to have been sold in 2012 and is not currently for sale.  We use HAR a lot, but I wondered if there are other suggestions for websites with helpful local data.

Hi Marco,

In what area of Houston is this house located?

We are looking at a duplex for a buy and hold  that is across the street from an apartment complex where comparable units to the duplex are $1200/month.  However, when I checked potential rent for the duplex on Rentometer, it said $800-$900/month.  There are about 10 duplexes on this street, but our realtor did not find any rental comps for duplexes.  Any general rule about duplex rents?  Should there be some reason they'd rent for less  than the apartments? We would plan to do a decent rehab and update.

Great minds think alike, @Craig Wilcox 

@Phillip Schaeffer 

 I'd strongly recommend J Scott's 2 books, The Book on Flipping Houses, and The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs.  They are both excellent!

http://get.biggerpockets.com/flippingbook/

@Aaron Thivierge    I'm not saying that those dog DNA tests are no good, but my mom had one done on her little dog.  Not a good pic, but here he is....

The results came back that he is 100% poodle.

Hi @Chad Duncan , I think you'd benefit a lot from listening to the podcasts with Michael Quarles.  He talks a lot about meeting with potential sellers.   They are here:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2014/07/03...

http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2014/07/31...

Best of luck!

Hey @Don Glasgow , I see that you are a new BP member. Welcome!  I hope you'll hang around, because experienced investors who are willing to share their knowledge are extremely valuable to the community.

You should definitely be able to find properties on the south side of Houston for under $150K.  We are trying to stay around $100K, and that's a bit more difficult.  Since you've already purchased some properties here, you probably know to check the flood zone of the property.  We are avoiding properties in the coastal counties since windstorm insurance is required if there is a mortgage, and that can be pretty pricey.  Lots of cracked foundations here, so that's something to be aware of.

Many of the homes in Clear Lake are 30 - 50 years old, due to all of the development when the space program was at its peak, so some of those should be in that price range.  

Let me know if you have more questions about this part of town as you continue to look at property here!