All Forum Posts by: Betty Cruz

@Jason Makariades Hi Jason, I'm sure what's customary is different in every market and I do know in San Antonio many landlords pay water. In San Antonio, trash is paid on the electric bill. I'm sure some pay everything. But I can only answer for how I do it, which is tenant pays all their own utilities. Even on duplexes,triplexes, etc, where there is just one meter, I pay the water bill, but charge each unit $30-$35 to help cover their portion of the water. On single family homes and duplexes, I make the yard maintenance a tenant expense. On my triplex and larger I pay for it because the grounds tend to be larger and encompass more common areas. Hope that helps.

@Jason Makariades Hi. I don’t see where I spoke to that subject, but I don’t know a way to mitigate as much as just account for it and plan on increases. Also it’s important to contest the increases each year. 

@Ian Hurdle and 

@Chilann Chan - I hope you LOVE working with @Andrew Postell as much as I do. I have ALL my conventional loans with him. He has a heart of a teacher, which I look for in any person I work with. 

@Daniel Moscoso. As @Will Pritchett said, I applaud you for getting out there. Also you did the right thing reaching out to this community and I applaud all those who have replied with some sound advice. I’m very proud of my fellow San Antonians who spent time to help you in constructive ways, especially some of those who did some research on it as well.

Since your profile is devoid of any info, I can’t tell what your background is or if you have any experience, but I’m assuming you may just be getting started. Hang in there and keep asking questions and taking action!

I definitely respect anything Rick has to say about the San Antonio market. To add to his comments, I noticed you said “rent.”  Most anything will rent if it’s the right price and reasonably maintained. Your question would then be would the acquisition and fix up costs merit the return. If so, it could be a good bet. Rick always recommends observing the areas you are buying in - in person is always best!

Good luck!

@Elias Parisca May that be true for you! Best, betty

@Elias Parisca haha. That makes no sense at all, does it? I think I read it to say cap rate. My apologies and thanks for calling me out!

@Elias Parisca Hi! You asked for info specific to San Antonio, which I think is very important. You didn’t ask about property tax, which you should spend time looking at. Ours are high and go up a lot year over year. There are ways to mitigate that, but it is still an important factor when analyzing rentals. 

1) Are these estimates about right for the San Antonio market? Should I adjust any of them up or down?
Vacancy: 5% THAT SOUNDS REASONABLE  - most property is not difficult to rent

Maintenance/repairs: 7% YES but greatly depends on the property age and class. I buy old houses and things break a lot more than newer houses.

CapEx: 7% YES but hardly matters for a single family

Property Management: 10% YES

2) For a single family residence in San Antonio, what utilities do landlords usually cover? NONE

3) From those landlord utilities, how much should I estimate to pay per month (or per year) for single family residences? NA

4) About how much should I expect to pay for home insurance for a 3 bedroom SFR in San Antonio? DEPENDS on the property. Higher value property is more expensive. This is easy to check by calling any insurance agent. I have a great one if you need one. 

@Matthew Mejia my favorite lender is @Andrew Postell with Guaranteed Rate. 

@Ngawang Bista - i suggest you reach our to a realtor who is also an investor, like @Tanya Lechner.