All Forum Posts by: Adam Gagne

Excellent reply.  Thank you @Sam Bates

It was a lump sum bid.  I'll reference this Citation back to him and see if he still wants to honor his price.  Tex. Tax Code Ann. sec. 151.0101 Tex. Tax Code Ann. sec. 151.051

Hello,

I've received a few bids from Contractors to rehab a property, and most do not include sales tax.  How is sales tax usually handled with General Contractors?

The reason I ask, is that I was about to choose one Contractor and I asked him if Sales tax is included and then he replied that it would be calculated at the end and added to the final bill. Something doesn't sit right with me, and it feels like they are trying to get a little bonus at the end.  

Could you all provide some insight on how you usually obtain quotes from Contractors and handle sales tax?

I am in Houston Texas and we have a 8.25% sales tax rate in Harris County.

When you apply for the HELOC you do not need to tell them that it is for investment property. After you are approved, you can do whatever you want with the money. It's your money.

Hi all,

I just completed my first rehab job and about to place it on the market for rental. I would like to begin exploring my cash-out refinance options and am having a hard time finding an investor friendly broker or bank to answer my questions and review my options.  

Does anyone have a good Mortgage Broker or Bank in Houston that they can refer?  If so please send me a PM.  I'm looking to do a Cash-out refinance.

Thank you,

Adam

Thanks @Chad McClain.  I will look into adding a rider on the regular policy.

Hello,  I am about to close on a property soon and it requires about $20-25k of rehab before I rent it out.  The rehab required is flooring (carpet/vinyl), sheetrock, finishing bathrooms/kitchen (it was half-rehabbed before I picked it up), light mold remediation, HVAC and maybe some electrical and plumbing.  

I received a 3-month vacant property quote (IR3) for around $1200, which seems really high (when compared to regular insurance).  The policy HO-3, for renting, is around $1600 for a year.  

The dwelling coverage will be for the house will be around $148k.

A few questions:

1. Am I better off buying a builders risk insurance for the rehab and obtain the HO3 policy? Or should I continue with the Vacant property quote (IR3), then move to the HO3?
2. Whats included in a Builders Risk Policy and what type of insurance company provides it?
3. Could you please private message me any recommendations you have for insurance brokers or providers in Houston that deal with investors?

Thank you!

@Randall Jacobs

Thanks for the comment and advice. I agree, for my first property I am would like to have it within 30 minutes.  I am pretty centrally located (Memorial Area), so I can reach out to most suburbia areas within 30 minutes (Katy, Cypress, Spring, Missouri city, Pearland, etc.). I've been focusing my search on the west side of town and trying to find a property in Katy area, but am open to all options.

How is the South East area right now? I suppose the oil slump won't hit that area as hard, because many of the people in that area are tied to the downstream side of the business (refining, chemicals, etc.

Thanks @Naeem Kapasi.  I've read that and many other real estate books; just recently finished My First Rental Property! (Chris Grosjean) and Retire Rich with Rentals (Kathy Fettke). I'm currently reading the BP famous @Brandon Turner 's "The Rook on Rental Property Investing".  

I feel like I have more than the fundamentals down in my head and on paper (created excel calculators, etc), have financing in order (Line of Credit, Cash, Mortgage Broker), and now just need to take the next step and invest into the right property. 

Good luck to you as well.

Adam

Hi Trey,

I am looking in West, North, Central, SW and NW Houston (pretty much all areas) in decent neighborhoods with decent schools.   I am looking for a 3/2 in the $90k - $130k range.   

My mid-term plan is to acquire a property every 6 months to build a portfolio of 10-20, but will not sacrifice on the math and they all need to be financially sound investments.  In other words, I do not plan to force fit properties into my portfolio just to achieve my goal.  

Do you have a weekly/daily list that is emailed out  - or do you work exclusively with buyers to help find them homes?

Thanks,

Adam

Hello,

I'm a new investor in the Houston area. I am looking for rental investment properties and have not had any success using the MLS. What are the best ways to find properties that will need light or no rehab at below-market value for a cash purchase? I would like to connect with some wholesalers or folks that could provide such property listings to me. What is the best way to find these (honest) wholesalers? I plan to do cash purchase (with re-finance) for most of my properties

Thanks,

Adam