All Forum Posts by: Geoff Perkins

@Alex Belyarchik a big thing to be aware of is the property taxes and utility district taxes. Property taxes are similar in many ways to Washington but there are some very key differences that can make or break a property. If you aren't already aware, taxes can vary based on the part of a development because many of the developments cross city, county and school district boundaries and the entities may have drastically different tax rates. Also if there is a utility district the property taxes from that entity alone can be several thousand dollars a year. I live in Prosper and know first hand from trying to find a rental while our house in Celina is being built that both the rental and sales are both red hot and the market is poised for huge continued growth for the foreseeable future out here but that also means buying a good deal now is going to be very difficult to find.

Its been 6 years or so since I lived in Rancho,  but the farther West you go the neighborhoods get rougher. As long as you stick to market rents you shouldn't have any problem finding tenants. 

My suggestion is to look on the MLS for houses that have obviously been flipped in the area you are working and use tax records to mail a letter to the owner introducing yourself and what you're doing. Flippers and some landlords are going to be your cash buyers. Just make sure you are set up to do business know how to run numbers and look professional before you reach out, you only get one first impression. Good luck and feel free to add me to the list as I am looking to move my investing to St. Louis!

@Kamil Pieniadz thats a very difficult question to answer. There are some 100 year old properties that have been rehabbed well and will require very little maintenance, and others have been rehabbed poorly or not at all and will require an immense amount of on going repairs. Your best bet for having low & predictable maintenance costs is to basically gut the house and do a complete remodel. Then you'll know how much life you can expect of of each component and discover hidden problems that can be remedied before they get out of hand.

I don't have any lender recommendations for you, but it sounds like you might be running into the 6 month guideline for a cash out refi. I'm assuming you didn't list the rehab costs on the HUD-1? If that's the case you are going to need a portfolio lender that doesn't require 6 months of seasoning. My suggestion would be to ask your lender if that's the case and if they could do what you want after the 6 months and try to negotiate a few month extension with the seller (maybe at $350/mo to make it more appealing to them). Either way, hope you find what you need.

@Patrick Day, the thing about real estate is that its more like the ocean than a road. You don't just go 3 blocks take a left, go 2 miles and then you arrive at success. You have to g

Figure out where you want to go and then plan a path that matches your personal situation. To plan this route you need to account for how much cash you have to invest, how much time are you willing to dedicate, how much knowledge do you have, what skills could you provide, what aspects interest you, and what you want to achieve. As mentioned by others, the first step should be to figure out where you are currently and what you want from real estate investing. Then you can try to plan a course to get from the current to the goal.

One thing I would suggest is to learn how property taxes work in the area you are looking at and calculate them yourself. There are several factors that could skew the annual property taxes up or down for example:

- If there were previously delinquent taxes, I have seen websites list the taxes as the total accrued amount instead of the individual yearly amount resulting in a huge error in your analysis. 

- Most taxing entities have some reduced tax programs that the current owner may be qualified for but you wouldn't and could end up taking a good deal and turning it into a cash loser.

- Taxing entities re-evaluate property values on schedules. Some may be every year but some are multiple years apart. Where I live properties are inspected once every 6 years. So if a house has been taken from a beater & fixed up the tax assessment will go up significantly. Always calculate taxes based on your estimated ARV.

- Its also important to know the factors that influence how your taxes are calculated. Some states are on a "budget based" system where the government budgets dictate the amount of taxes due and other states are on the "Rate based system where there is a set property tax rate that doesn't change when market values go up or down resulting in taxes owed mirroring the market.

Property tax laws very greatly though out the county so its very important to understand your local rules. Local Assessors/tax collection offices can guide you to the information for your area.

@Nathan Cross there is a group called Southside Investment Club on Meetup. It seems pretty big. I haven't attended one of their virtual meeting.

@Mike Mocek thanks for reaching out, I would be glad to talk. I'll send you a direct message.

@Stephen Brown I'm still evaluating which out of state market I want to start investing in, but Toledo is one of my top prospects so if you'll have me I'd like to join the group.

Thanks

-Geoff