Houston, TX transplant from Boston, MA

[Lucas S.]

Hey all.

I recently drove from Boston to Houston. On the way, I listened to an insane amount of the BP podcasts. That led me to this forum, and thus, this introduction.

A couple of years ago, I went to buy a condo that would have netted me some pretty good cash flow. I was 18, and it would have been my first property. I was approved for a mortgage (had been working for a while and had some money saved up), everything was right on target for closing, and then... the appraisal came in way under value. The bank needed an extra 7k down, which I didn't have - the deal fell through. A week later, someone purchased the property for 10k more then I had offered, in cash.

Since that burn, real estate's had a special place for me. I am a big believer in passive income, and have recently looked at real estate in a different light. I'm studying everything I can get my hands on and looking to purchase a buy and hold property soon. 

Thanks for all the material on this site, it's been amazing, and really looking forward to asking questions on here!

Thanks,

Lucas

[Michael Ran]

all of the properties i own and manage are in Houston. Right now the word from some of my fellow lifestyles friends is actually MF... In their opinion. 

I am in a holding pattern waiting to see what will happen.(oil prices, oil industry, GOP, local economy, ect.) 

There are people who rent for a lot of reasons. And to be honest my cash cow properties are the 900-1200 rentals. Even a slightly higher minimum wage worker can afford it but cant get mortgage, so there is a larger tenant pool. The higher the rent the better the tenants but there are fewer of them and many can get mortgages. The younger generation don't want and can't afford to buy. Plus many young business people have to move for better jobs aka why buy when you may have to sell not to mention the fear of 2008 and watching what happened to their family, who lost their homes. 

You just have to find the deals. They are out there, there are just a lot of other people looking for them. Don't get in a hurry or buy a deal just to get into REI. Buy a deal because it makes financial sense. Houston is rough right now! There also some issues novices arent seeing right now that could drop prices in the next year if oil prices keep falling and business doesn't start booming.