Finding additional costs like taxes and insurance?

Question

I am new to RE and have been doing research for the past 4 months.  I am Military and deployed to Korea, but I know this time next year I will begin buying houses in Killeen Texas.  I know I want to begin with single family houses.

I want to use the biggerpockets rental property calculator and analyse some properties to get a feel for it. (5 free uses)  How do I find out the additional costs in the area such as property tax and insurance? Average rents in the area? Is information provided by sites like Trulia about taxes and similar properties price accurate?

Also, how do I find out about upcoming construction projects?

I would love to link into a Killeen or Central Texas investment group.

Thank you

-Josh

Andrew Allen · Answer

@Josh Barnett I have a rental house in Killeen and its been my worst investment, as my house value and rents have not even kept pace with inflation since I bought the house in 2003. Driving around any neighborhood at random it seems every other house is for rent. There is lots of open land and developers are building houses as fast as they can. From talking to @David Ivy it sounds like multifamily might be a better investment.

Have you been to Killeen before?

I will be happy to share my numbers with you btw.

David Ivy · Answer

@Josh Barnett

You may want to connect with @Andrew Allen. He's a veteran and has experience investing in single family in Killeen. I have a fourplex in Killeen and know the multifamily market there well. So, if you get interested in multifamily in Killeen, feel free to reach out.

Brian Adams · Answer

@Josh Barnett

I love USAA, but I might recommend comparison shopping them with some other insurance options when it comes time to choose insurance providers. They can be pricey.

Josh Barnett · Answer

Thank you all for your input. I will:

1. Join central texas investor groups.

2. Link up with Killeen realtors and investors.

3. Reach out to my bank (USAA) for insurance estimates.

4. Compile rental prices for houses I would want to buy.

5. Look into Texas county assessors page for taxes.

That should get me started so I can input accurate numbers into a rental calculator. One thing I am continuing to do is research neighborhoods and upcoming construction projects.

Thank you again.

Brian Adams · Answer

@Andrew Allen

Curious if you don't mind sharing - what subdivision is your Killeen rental?

Michael Lucero · Answer

Taxes - you can look them up on the county assessor's website (google it) and input the address. Insurance - just call around to get some quotes, can be like .001%-.006% of house value per year.

Average rents (how would you find a place to rent out for yourself)- look at zillow.com under rent category and input the zip code, look at craigslist ads, and simply google "rent room in __city___"

Kevin Hunter · Answer

@Josh Barnett, for taxes, google the mill rate for the county or state you are looking in.  I have a spreadsheet which lays out what all the property tax rates are for all the areas I invest.

For insurance, call an insurance broker, tell him your story and he will provide you with quotes.  Once you are comfortable and have analyzed several deals, you will be able to estimate very closely.

Rental comps, go on craigslist, Trulia, Zillow, realtor, hotpads, and run the numbers.  You will be able to get to a real close estimate on bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage, amenities, etc...

Good luck!

Finding additional costs like taxes and insurance?

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