All Forum Posts by: Andy Webb

I am not a CPA, so be sure to speak with yours...but to your main question:  yes, she will have to pay capital gains taxes on any gains since she has not occupied the property in the last 5 years.  To avoid that gains tax, you must have occupied it for 2 of the last 5 years and there are limits to the amount of gain covered, beyond which taxes do accrue...but in this case that is not relevant.

Talk with a real estate attorney about rent-to-own, there are limitations in Texas.

Andy

Which one checks all of your boxes?  Meets all of your investing criteria?  Criteria might include absolute cash flow in dollars; cash-on-cash return; equity captured in dollar or percentage terms; minimum property age; maximum rehab; cosmetic rehab only or some majors ok; location; square footage requirements; configuration 3/2/2, or 3/1/2, or 3/1/0 or etc...

How did you structure your LLC landscape for Mangement Company, Holding Company, Properties, etc...?

WHY: We are hitting our first full decade as rental owners (SF) here in Texas. We have followed the BRRRR method throughout, and always refi'd into the 30-year FNMA/FHLMC backed products; always in separate names to allow my wife and me to maximize that cheap money (you can each do 10 loans). For those that might holler about liability protection: we have kept them leveraged with cash-outs, have a substantial umbrella policy in place, and very simply we just make sure we keep the properties maintained and are good operators with happy residents.

We are now transitioning into a more commercial space and plan to roll out that LLC structure. Goals include further SFR acquitisions, small MF and more cash-outs using commercial products (since I am leaving my W2 in the next few weeks...).

I have my thoughts on structure, but was curious what others have done. I appreciate any insight you may care to share!

Andy

If there are any RE investor meet ups in your area coming up, I would try to get out to a few of those to see who the more experienced folks are using.  Talk with a few newer ones (e.g. closer to your level of complexity...) as well that have CPA to see if they will share price points for your area.

From a management perspective, I would stick to Forney.  Not to mention that place is poised to explode if it isn't already.

Curious: why is Princeton on your radar?

Corollary: if you have anything available in Forney, I know someone looking to buy there.  Hint: his profile pic has a little white doggie in it...

Good luck,

Andy

10 years ago, our primary "why" was creating the cash flow we needed to get my wife out of a horrid place in Corporate America; got that done in 3 years.  Since then we have had our little guy come along - and he has become our new motivation.  Giving him a great life that involves a ton of travel - we are constantly out and about showing him this great nation of ours in an RV (we find managing the rental empire from the road works just fine).  I will be exiting Corporate America myself in March, so going all-in full-time as an investor with more fun on the road.

Right now we have all single-family, most have garages (and most of those are filled with occupant junk, which tells me they aren't moving anytime soon).  We normally set it to +1.  E.g. if there are 2 adults, 3 vehicles; maybe adjusting up for teen drivers.  Of course the application should list the number of vehicles, with license plate, monthly payment amount, etc (at least ours does).

@Joe Splitrock - great point right there:

"Keep in mind that liability increases when a tenant reports an issue. Being aware of a risk and not taking action to prevent a problem can be viewed as negligence. You become more liable when negligence is involved."

What does the lease say?  What does your state property code dictate?  (Association leases here in Texas refer to property code, which is very specific about locks.  And in Texas, you inherit the lease when you buy, so I would defer to that).

What market - there in Phoenix?  At least here in Texas, most foundation companies will do a free inspection, so bring out a few.  Of course they *may* have something to sell you....so if you want a truly independent analysis, you can pay an engineering company to inspect (usually around $400 here in my experience).  

I have worked with a lot of foundation companies over the years, and over time you do figure out who is more focused on selling and who is more interested in your success as an investor (they know they get volume in the long run).  The latter will be happy to inform me either no problems, or a minimal watering program will resolve the current issues.