New to real estate investing in the Houston, TX area

[Tyler Shaulis]

I am actually going backwards on here and this is my second discussion. My first discussion has a quick update on who I am, and if you could go and check out a concern I'm currently having. Newbies Flipping Our First Home is the name of the discussion and the link right here - My first Discussion.

I live in Pearland, TX which is south, southeast Houston area. I will be going on this journey with my fiancee Ashley Huff. So feel free to connect with either of us. We are both commercial drafters by trade but have a passion for residential real estate and flipping homes, with multi-family homes. 

I am looking to network and learn from members who have walked the walk. I haven't been a member long, but I can already say I have come to the right place. The members here are really helpful and the podcasts are a wealth of information too. 

Our current situation is the financial part. We are looking into alternative funding like hard money and such but to us it's a little scary since time wouldn't be on our side since we both work full time jobs.

We would love to hear from others who flip homes, or have flipped homes with a full time job..

[Bonnie Brown]

Hi Tyler.  I just relocated but lived in Pearland for 17 years.  It's a good idea to hook up with trusted pros in the Houston investment community. You will find great investment services and team members by joining the RICH club and the Wealth club of Houston and taking advantage of their complimentary training sessions.  [That said, you may want to steer clear of guys trying to sell you expensive training courses.]  Within those clubs, there are experienced investors, RE lawyers, RE agents and brokers, lenders, insurance, title, trades people, accountants and inspectors.  I love Kevin Smith [inspector] and I particularly like the way Brant Phillips [Rent Ready Contractors] has developed his contracting service for rehabbers - they also train newbies as well.  All of the above mentioned are offering info about steps to take when rehabbing flooded properties.  

A seasoned investor, Ray Sasser, told me he thinks it best to learn by doing [to just jump and start rehabbing] rather than waste your money on expensive courses. Michael Plaks [CPA] can also help with setting up your books correctly and advise regarding taxes for RE investors.  Jet Lending is a well-respected hard money lender in the area.   

I hope that the City of Pearland has improved their permit processes - it used to be that there was a good-old-boy type system and they apparently wouldn't approve jobs done by contractors from outside their area [or unknown to them].  They were also very slow to issue permits.  One contractor I knew, Jim Davis of Pearland Remodeling on Old Alvin Road, seemed to always have insight as to the permit department issues.  Wouldn't hurt to call him to get his idea about the current status and best way to pull permits, if necessary [note: he's a great contractor but his prices are probably too high for investor purposes].  My own speculation is that some rehabbers in Pearland may have engaged contractors without pulling permits because it was such a huge pain to deal with that department.  The ones who did try to pull permits in the past, probably lost money in holding costs.  Like I said - I hope things have improved there. You may want to consider these issues before you decide on your rehab location.  Best wishes!