All Forum Posts by: Brad Gibson

@Anthony Aguillard the efficiencies operators are working with now makes oil at above $50 profitable.  I would guess that if things were to rise above $60, then things would really start to hum again like 2013.

Just want to get some other West Texas investors feel for the Midland/Odessa market conditions.  With the Saudis & OPEC promising to cut production (we will see), it seems there is a new range for WTI that is holding at above $50 per barrel. That seems to be the magic number for driving investment in the Basin & it appears companies are beginning to hire again.

Are y'all seeing the beginning signs of an upturn in the rental markets?  The prices for homes never really seemed to drop significantly over the 2 year downturn in the oil patch, but rents certainly went down. My non-scientific/anecdotal info appears to indicate growing pricing strength in the rents.

I just closed on, rehabbed, & found a tenant for a property in Midland.  I was worried, that it might be tough to find a tenant given the falling rent prices, but I actually had honest to goodness competition amongst 4-5 qualified applicants for the house.  Among those competing were 3 from out of state that wanted me to hold the house for them till Jan-Feb.

Any confirming or conflicting information from your perspectives?

Thanks y'all that is a good start for me.

BG

I'm a newbie REI looking for advice on what service to utilize in assisting me in screening prospective tenants. I have a good rental application thanks to Brandon Turner's book on managing properties, but wanted to poll the experts here to see which tenant screening service works best for the $$.

Thanks in advance for the suggestions.

@Derek Brunson That helps a great deal. I appreciate the feedback & it gives me some ideas for proceeding. Thank you. 

@Jacobe Kendrick Have you seen any changes in the Midland market since this post?

I've found that the home prices have remained high, but the rents have fallen. Reality has not yet seemed to set in with homeowners that the party is over & that they may have to come off of the boom town high valuations. 

I'm not interested in timing the market, but interested in some good deals for a cash flow, buy & hold investment. 

@Derek Brunson

I'm having a tough time finding properties that cash flow more than $200 mo in Lubbock after property management.  Is that unusual?  It seems that you can get lots of stuff to hit the 1% rule fairly easily, but if you finance a property and have a property manager, then the margins get very thin.

Is that unusual, or do I just suck at finding the "right" deals??

Thank you @Jordan Sutherland & @Derek Brunson.  I'm grateful for the heads up & advice. 

I'm fortunate to be able to travel to Lubbock on a regular basis, so I don't buy sight unseen. 

I already have a SFR in Cooper school district (4/2) that is doing well. Just hunting for the next property & duplexes seem to hit cash flow numbers better, so I was exploring all options.

@Tim Jones Good call on that. I think I'd almost rather my purchased properties be empty & then screen & fill the vacancy on my own. I've heard inherited tenants can be problematic. 

Has my agent go by this morning. From the pics, it looks unoccupied & in definite need of rehab. 

Found out this evening that it went under contract today, so now a moot point.

On to searching for the next deal.

Thanks for all of the advice & responses.