Buy & Hold investor from DFW

[Mark H.]

Hello BP members,

I've been doing REI since 2009 and I can't believe that only recently I discovered this great site.

I'm a small investor from the DFW area (REI is my hobby) I learned mostly from books back in 2008 and right after that the market started going down and I started buying properties in my suburb and converting them to rentals. The learning curve was frustrating the first year but over time I've learned to do it much more efficiently. I'm here to keep learning and share my lessons learned.

Happy investing everyone.

[Mark H.]

@Rene Martinez  - Thanks.

@Aaron Montague - Thanks. The DFW market reached a bottom in 2011 with prices seen even as low as 40% off the peak in the upper class areas (e.g Southlake) and the lower class areas (e.g. Part of East Fort Worth). Middle class suburbs were priced about 20% off peak. The big increase across the board happened very quickly in the spring of 2013 and since then it has been a seller's market. Rent levels, however, have increased very slowly and therefore ROI seemed to have dropped since 2013 to the point that it is not an investors market unless you get a deal from a wholesaler.

@Jacob Davenport - Some of my lessons learned ( targeted at beginners):

1. Stick to one zip code that matches your profile and learn it in depth. This could make your decisions significantly better. If you don't know the strengths and weaknesses of an area then don't invest there (unless you want to learn the weaknesses after the fact...)

2. Don't chase the highest/maximum/ideal profit margin. It's just a recipe for wasting your time and losing good/decently profitable opportunities. If the numbers make sense after due diligence, don't hesitate too much, just go for it.

3. Many agents are not investor friendly. If an agent sends you 50+ listings a day without careful filtering, and tells to hurry up and buy whatever listing you ask about, you know it's time to find another agent. What's a good agent? Focuses on a specific area, knows what drives the demand, warns you of potential risks, helps filter listings carefully, knows you don't have to buy unless the numbers make sense, and knows the rent levels as well.

4. Learn RE tax rules and do some tax planning.

5. A successful investor gets financing lined up before a discounted property hits the market, not after.

Lots more lessons learned, save some for later. Cheers.