All Forum Posts by: Anja Schepp

Hi Owain! I work as a civil engineer here in Austin, and what you're proposing can be done but it's not always simple. It depends on jurisdiction, the source of the floodplain, proposed use etc, but what it usually comes down to is that any volume removed from the floodplain would need to be given back elsewhere. That also comes with permitting requirements that can vary from something as simple as submitting a variance request to having to go through an official revision of the maps with FEMA.

(Think if you just fill in all that storage how someone down or upstream would be affected).

Happy to connect if you want to take a deeper look into it and explore options!

Federico, 

Check out Phillip & Devon at Drake-Tappe for your ATX development or construction needs (https://draketappe.com). Can't recommend them enough, but Austin keeps everyone busy. 

If you're looking for some civil work to help you get started, or give you some preliminary do's, don'ts, and site restrictions, feel free to shoot me a message!

Best of luck
 

 Thank you John!

Figuring out the source of my numbers is my current struggle. Do I compare against the surrounding professionally managed apartments with lots of amenities? Compare to facebook sublease pages? Do I call a local property manager to check their rates, and would they even provide that information to me? How much vacancy should I be willing to risk to make sure I'm getting top pricing? As I test the waters I'm sure I'll hone in on the right numbers, but that takes time, and I am hoping someone may have advice on what sources were the most accurate for them when it came to estimating rent premiums. 

Agreed & Ultimately this would be a pretty low stakes decision in the long term. The couple grand to renovate vs the couple hundred a month (potentially) of rent increase would likely even out within a couple of years, but I'm itching to add a second unit as soon as possible so thinking even a year out seems like high stakes to me, personally.

HOA prevents<1 month rentals unfortunately.

Thank you for your thoughts I really appreciate the input!

This is currently my biggest dilemma. I base most of my pricing based on sublease groups on facebook, as most of the properties around that have websites are nicely renovated with a ton of amenities that I don't offer. These subleasing pages range from low $1,000's  to the high $1,600's for seemingly similar units (unrenovated 1b/1ba) just based on who is doing the marketing - private landlord or professional management - and the time the lease was signed. I can not for the life of me determine where in that range I fall.  

Being selective on tenant is a great point that I wasn't thinking of. This being my first unit, I would HIGHLY value someone who took better care of the place and made rent collection easy, over someone who's lifestyle mirrors the "pigsty" you mention and makes my life difficult. This might actually end up being the driving factor behind the renovation, so I appreciate you bringing this up.

Thank you for your input Jim!

Hello All! 

I have a condominium (1b/1ba) in Austin, Texas in a college housing heavy area. It's currently featuring old laminate counters, worn out sheet vinyl flooring in the kitchen, a suspicious yellowed bathroom vanity counter and office style overhead light in the kitchen that really draw the eye and detract from the fact its a really nice space otherwise. 

I am having trouble deciding if it's worth the renovation. These are pretty basic fixes in my opinion, but there seem to be a lot of really nice units in the area, and I'm not sure if that market is oversaturated. I don't want to dump money into renovation if it won't get the premium rate, and I should actually just stay in a more budget, unrenovated niche.

Currently it just about breaks even with the hard costs and saving for more major repairs someday. This is pretty much what I expected in a hot market like ATX where I was buying off the MLS with little experience. It rents at the low end of the spectrum with very little to no vacancy, and 1b/1ba's in the area can range from $1,000/month (grandfathered in leases in similar units) to $1,800+ for summertime leases on renovated, professionally marketed units. This is my first unit and I am trying to scale as quickly as I can so every $50/month helps, but spending too much cash to renovate elements that won't return will really set me back as well.

Any and all advice is appreciated, and thank you in advance! 

Have no advice here but commenting to boost and follow for my own condo! Best of luck!

@Chris Seveney

Good thought but unfortunately no, standard 9x20.

@Jonathan R McLaughlin 

Thanks for your thoughts. Because it's too much of a red flag that the correct amount of parking was not on the contract? Or because value would be too affected to rectify, or something else?

@Russell Brazil  Unfortunately I am out of that time now. Would you assume that if we only asked for clarification during that time, and didn't officially walk away, that I will be unable to do so now, even with 2 spaces on the contract?