Taking the plunge in Houstob

[Andre Noumair]

Well finally, after 4 months of listening to every podcast on BP, reading J scott books on estimating and flipping as well as the FLIP book, both are awesome resources may I add, I have decided to take the plunge.

I have identified a couple of zipcode I will invest in. My selection criteria was based on a median home value of 165,000 (trending upwards from last year) with a supply of months in inventory less than 4.5 (preferably trending downwards from last year)

In order to determine the desired zipcode, I did the following:

First, I created an excel sheet and plugged in about 30 zipcodes from all over within Houston city limits.

Second, I went to the Texas A & M real estate center and plugged in each of these zipcodes. I got so much more information than I bargained for.

Third, I narrowed the result to 5 zipcodes using the above two criteria and I selected the two closest to my house.

I know I could have probably used the help of a realtor, I will at a near time in the future. I just need to find a superstar realtor who is willing to team up with investors.

Next step is to drive for dollars and be on look out for some distressed properties in these 2 zipcodes. I will also get a list of absentee owners from listsource in order to mail some yellow letters. I think these two strategies should be OK for the time being. Persistence is the name of the game....

I welcome any feedback you might have. Thanks.

[Rich O'Neill]

Hey @Andre Noumair congrats on taking the leap! 

Sounds like you have really done some good stuff to get started. 

One thing I would suggest is to possibly consider taking on more ZIP codes. I don't know about Houston, but here by us (Philadelphia suburbs) a zip code is about 3 square miles, which is not very big. 

Another would be to approach seller's agents directly and offer them both sides of the deal. As you start working with them, you may find one you want to work with more in the future, and you will help your offers get accepted by sweetening the deal for the agent who can subtly push for your deal over any potential others. It is a good way to "test drive" an agent with no commitment. 

You may also consider getting your own license. I did it and love it. The MLS is usually a very powerful tool that would have put that info you searched for right at your fingertips.

Hope this is helpful! Best of luck!