Tips for investing in Arlington, TX

[Account Closed]

Hello:  We live in California but looking to invest in Texas, Arlington specifically.  We have a small amount of funds and are considering buying 1-2 SFHs to start .  Arlington came up when doing some reading as a good potential city with expected job growth.  Do you have tips for this endeavor? ex. how to find a good match for a buying agent, doing as much legwork as possible by phone or internet and keeping travel to a minimum.  Thank you!!

[Joel O'Leary]

Hi Naya,

I live in CA too and started buying rentals in a small TX town about 4 years ago. I have 1 duplex and 4 x fourplexes currently. I'm going to oversimplify, but here's how I got started once I decided on my target area:

- Google about 10 local realtors with high ratings.

- Call them all up and ask them all the same set of questions. Eg. What are the best areas in town? What areas should I stay away from? Do you work with investors mostly or home-buyers? Can you refer me to the BEST 2 or 3 property managers in town? Can you refer me to the BEST 2-3 local lenders in town? (remember, rockstars know other rockstars) Ask some questions about the job growth and local data you have read about to confirm it's all legit. Also, ask about any other economic developments or areas "in the path of progress". Where are the millennials moving to? etc. etc.

- Write down all the answers they give.

- Cross reference all the answers and you should start seeing some consistent themes and be able to feel like you know the area better. After this you should know what a good deal looks like.

- Choose one of the realtors to work with. This is a personal trust choice.

- Tell them your target criteria and ask them to start sending you listings from the MLS. (Or if they know of any off-market deals, that's even better!)

- Call the local Property Managers that were recommended. Ask them all questions. Remember, the property managers will have a better understanding of how much SFH's rent for, the turnover, expected maintenance costs, quality of tenants, and areas to avoid. The Property Manager, in my opinion, is the MOST important person on your team. While the Realtor handles a single transaction, Property Managers stick with you for years and years. You are married to them once you buy an investment prop, so this relationship must be the strongest.

- Repeat the cross reference process for all the answers and get a good feeling about the areas and rental rates you can expect. You don't have to sign with a PM until you actually have a property, but it's good to have one lined up. Also, you will want to know their fees etc, so you can use them for your investment analysis.

- Call the local lenders, get pre-qualified. Try to work with lenders that have experience in Investment Properties. This guy (@Andrew Postell) is awesome and is licensed in TX. I used him and would recommend reaching out to him.

These would be my first steps and you can do all this over the phone without traveling. This way when you do visit Arlington you already have a lot of knowledge and can make the most of your trip. 

Good luck and let me know if you want me to expand of clarify anything further!

Joel