Hello from a new investor in Dallas!

[Justin C.]

Hello Dallas forum members!

Having been a long-time reader but first-time poster, I'm writing to introduce myself: I'm Justin, and I live in the medical district area of Dallas near Uptown.  I came across BiggerPockets as one of the first resources I encountered when I became interested in real estate investing, starting off with the BP podcast (I've marathoned ~60 episodes in two weeks) and the site itself.

I am new to real estate investing, and I'm excited (though also a fair bit intimidated) to get started.  I thought I'd reach out to the community to get more involved and seek out local members of the BP community. I've done a fair bit of research over the past few weeks, reading books such as What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow, The ABCs of Real Estate Investing, and Investing in Duplexes, Triplexes & Quads.

As I'm starting out, I'm interested in investing in single family residences and 2-4 unit multifamily for a long-term buy-and-hold strategy. I have an initial goal of attaining $3,000 per month ($36k annually) in income derived from real estate investments in order to supplement my full-time job.

To kickstart this post, I thought I'd ask some questions to the community that I've been pondering over the course of my real estate education:

1. First, market timing: I have the sense that the Dallas market has been on the upswing for the past several years, accelerating even more rapidly since the announcement of several major companies (including Toyota) moving to Plano. I'm concerned I'm jumping in at a time when values are high and getting higher; at the same time, I don't want to wait too long to get started in real estate investing. Do you all have thoughts on whether (or to what extent) I should be concerned about buying which the market is hot?
2. A quick question on entity structure and insurance: As I'm planning on investing in multiple properties over the long-term, I'm considering forming a series LLC in Texas, which has several benefits in terms of administrative cost reduction (relative to having an LLC per property). My question is whether (or at what point) should I consider having umbrella insurance? Are there any rules of thumb governing this decision?
3. Areas to consider: For those who are familiar with the Dallas market, would you consider Plano/Allen/Frisco to be essentially tapped out? I've spoken with several local real estate folks who have said the demand is now stretching as far as McKinney and Denton. What areas might you recommend I start looking for deals?
4. I've also cross-posted this introduction to the New Member Introduction forum, so please don't be surprised if you see this there as well.  For us Dallas-area forum members, please say hi! I'm excited to meet others who share an interest and passion in real estate.

A big thanks to everyone who took the time to read this wall of text, and I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts.

[Will G.]

Hey Justin, congrats on deciding to start on your journey. I don't know your particular market, but I can tell you after having lived in Austin, that Texas in general is very attractive when compared to many other states. Reach out to as many local pro's as you can, let them know what you are looking for and join R.E. invest clubs in your town. You will be able to get feedback on your market and make decisions accordingly. Having said that, waiting for better market conditions costs money too! Maybe prices will soften 10 percent in the next recession, but how much will it cost to wait? On the umbrella insurance thing, I have gone back and forth on these same questions with attorneys and cpa's and the consensus is don't even bother with the llc unless there are positive tax implications. Your liability does not get removed by an llc anymore unless you very,very, carefully setup and manage them, as any "mistakes" in handling will render them useless in court. So the umbrella is the best strategy for dealing with liability. But most important; DON'T BE NEGLIGENT in the first place!

You are providing someone with a home so make sure, house numbers are clear in case of emergency, all window and door locks function so you can't get blamed for a robbery, document that the water heater is set at factory setting so no baby gets scalded, document there are no trip hazards, document there is no danger from falling/dead tree limbs, no culverts a child can crawl into, no access to the attic that can cause a fall, that the garage door safety features are working, that there is a fire extinguisher(required by insurance btw), and smoke alarms that work, etc, etc, etc

Have tenants sign that they will have and hold renters insurance and document EVERYTHING as far as maintenance, complaints and resolutions etc. If you are focused on providing a quality product and a good value you will always come out on top.