What is new in Rehabbing - Amarillo, TX

Question

I have been out of the game for over 10 years and looking to jump back in, I'm curious as to what has changed in that time. Back in the day I did a lot of work with some great lenders which are still doing their thing as well, excellent title agents whom I think are still around, and Ryan Webber  as well as a few other local investors.

I know the game well but I'm quite sure some things have changed that I should know about. I will likely work into rehabbing which is my niche and/or wholesaling and go from there. Is there a good group of folks from Amarillo in here?

Thanks for any and all feedback!

Charles Whitaker · Answer

@Katie Printz

You can find all the other investors simply by looking at houses. Lol. I can't say how many times I have looked at a potential deal in which 5 other investors showed up.

Charles Whitaker · Answer

Haha. I gotcha. If that's the case, what is everybody paying these days? I assume you are still around 70% minus repairs? What are others paying to force you into doing deals?

Scott R. · Answer

There’s a local reig Tony Link runs, he’s on here but won’t let me tag him. There’s more local people on here then you’d think just not many active on here but they’re reading this 😂

Facebook group “Amarillo Reig” related to the group.

Katie Printz · Answer

@Charles Whitaker

@Scott R.

@Blake C.

I’m glad I stumbled across this thread. I’m an Amarillo native whose looking to move back home in the very near future. Not many folks from Amarillo seem to be on here.

Does Amarillo have any REI meetups or groups to get involved with?

How do y’all connect with other area investors?

Charles Whitaker · Answer

So what I'm hearing is that i should just gear up the ol' marketing machine and get the deals rolling. I am negotiating a house right now ~40% of ARV (85k) with ~15k in repairs. Too bad these don't exist as much as they used to.

I have been busy remodeling houses these last few years, perhaps it is time to switch gears.

Scott R. · Answer

There’s 5+ new wholesalers who actively post stuff, but imo 9 out of 10 aren’t really deals. I’ve slowed down haven’t bought anything to keep as a rental in over a year, probably closer to two, prices just gotten high, and I feel it’s more of a temporary high. I’ve done 4 flips this year, all decent but isn’t like it used to be.

Charles Whitaker · Answer

That is interesting and a good thing to know. I no longer have access to my realtor friend and cannot pull accurate comps like i used to. Scott, you sure do have a lot of properties.  I have looked up quite a few of your records and the list was quite impressive.  I see you use the same players.

So basically nobody is doing wholesale deals anymore? I never really considered Sean's to be great rehab deals as i only bought one from him. On occasion he would have something great.

looking forward to learning more as i dive back in. I highly appreciate any and all feedback.

Blake C. · Answer

I've noticed that wholesaling as slowed down a bunch as prices have crept up. I agree that it feels like people are overpaying, but its probably a combo of more investors and more retail purchasers in the past couple years. Now buyers have slowed down a little, but we based prices off the past (comps) so prices still seem to be holding up a little.

More retail buyers = less renters + more people land lording = Higher Investment costs

Less Renters (More owners) + More landlords = Stagnent or Lower Rent. I haven't seen rents really increase in 6-7 years.

Higher prices + Stagnant Rent = Lower Returns.

I'm not sure the best way to navigate this trend other than ride it out through long-term holds.

Scott R. · Answer

Amarillo market is currently flooded. Market is so flooded with people who want to get into the game it’s insane. Prices through the roof. Newer people to this flip game are overpaying, and getting lucky and overselling.

If you pay attention, many of the local flips end up being turned into rentals or they have to carry the note just to get rid of it. They got lucky on one or two, sold at the top of the market and think it’ll always be like that.

So here I am, overpaying just to be competitive. 🤦🏻‍♂️