All Forum Posts by: Aaron Gordy

 There are many examples all throughout the metro of garage conversions especially in 44. The catch is that one will need to do it properly with an eye on resale eventually. If one doesn't pull permits and the garage conversion is out of code then its very likely that the property won't allow for typical financing such as fha, etc. Financing will have an effect upon maximizing gains on the resale, probably.

I know that firsthand btw. I remodeled a duplex in 78741 and converted the garage (without permits but with skilled licensed tradesmen friends) once I found out that there was a big demand for 3 bedrooms vs 2 bedrooms in that submarket, then. When I eventually hit the resale market, one end buyer tried to buy with va loan owner occupant and had difficulty with the loan and eventually backed out. I sold it to an investor who recognized the cash flow with a purchase price of a little less than the va buyer. I did make quite a bit more in cash flow over the hold period though that exceeded that small variance in pricing at resale. 

Central Insurance Agency. North Lamar. Solid folks. 

duplexes are trading at 11-14 grm. 4plexes are trading at 13-15 grm. There was a 4plex at 2106 kirksey that was priced too low at 12 grm, had multiple offers and eventually sold at 13.5 grm.

 Texas economy is super diverse and its very welcoming for businesses with many tax benefits and ease of doing business. There are multiple industries that drive the state's economy such as Tech, Oil and Gas, Aerospace, Medical and Biomedical, Agriculture, Military, Manufacturing, etc. The days of labeling Texas as a one industry economy went out during the 1970-1980's painful economic oil industry collapse. The diversification has allowed Texans to not only survive but thrive. We need folks to come here to fill the jobs from this economic job creating juggernaut. But to be very real, we are a victim of our own success and the immigrant crisis on the southern border is an example. 

@Kaycie Gunn Congrats! How about Crystal Beach? I know that is a popular destination and its easy to commute to from the golden triangle. It was popular spot to hang out when I was a kid back in the day and my grandfather did really well with renting it out as a holiday hang out. Not sure if the demand is still there but they lived large on two rentals in Port Arthur area and the Crystal Beach home. 

 Behind every set of numbers is a story or multiple stories that help explain the situation. In aggregate though it shows trends. Texas has always been a great place to do business and Texas and Texans has always been known for wild west big bets that make or break fortunes. Even the Simpsons poked fun with Richard "Rich" Texan and Shady Bird Johnson... lol. Also the Ex's laws (alimony) in Texas are very good relative to CA. Trade up... joking. 

What is your rationale for suggesting that those statisticians are inaccurate? 

 You kinda answered your own concern by saying that you were considering moving to NJ but didn't due to the relative tech scene. Lets face it. The Bay area has all the infrastructure in place already. Venture capital is very prevalent there. If one has an incredible tech idea then its much more likely to get funded in the bay area vs nj or even austin. Two, the local universities such as Berkeley and Stanford are very unique, internationally known excellence and devoted to the tech scene producing top notch tech folks. 

Atx has a tech scene but it pales in comparison to the bay area. We have University of Texas and Texas State to the south of Austin. Although both are great universities they aren't in the unique position as Stanford and Berkeley. We do have venture capital but its relatively small. 

It doesn't really sound like the Bay Area is going through a seismic change in work. https://labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/file/lfmonth/sanf$pds.pdf According to the data that is coming out the bay area unemployment is at 3.4% and increase from 2.4%. Even though its an increase its not out of the norm for the country. It seems that tech work has decreased but its not a tidal wave nor do I expect it. The bay area has been synonymous with tech innovation for decades. 

You may want to slow your roll until after the city starts actually taking applications. If history is indicative of the future, there is usually a lawsuit or two that tends to throw a monkey wrench into the rewriting of city code. 

I think more info is needed to offer solid advice. For example, I would take a loss, if it put me in a lower tax bracket that would actually save me substantially more money than the loss. Also consider that the values and rents would likely rise. There will likely also be very little maintenance costs for years to come as its a new build. In the real estate game, one can lose on a monthly basis but win substantially on a yearly basis given all the other tax benefits with real estate investment such as depreciation.