All Forum Posts by: Bing Lin

@Jacqueline Pelzer did you actually apply the HELOC for your co-op in NYC? Just want to see which bank you end up going with. Thanks!

I think everyone summarizes all very well above. One observation I can add based on my limited research on Austin so far is that rent seems a bit low (I am comparing SFH in Dallas vs Austin). So I have been trying to look for MF, but good ones for investors are hard to find in the limited inventory on the market now. One last thing, don't forget about the high property tax in Texas, Austin is no exception, newer property could have higher property tax.

I was just at Austin this past weekend. It is harder to find positive cash flow within Austin now (I am looking for B class neighborhood). I did however found some houses in the small town Manor, east of Austin, to be still cheaper (below $200). However, with the high tax rate in Texas and Manor seems to be higher than other areas (not sure reason yet), it is not easy to find good cash flow either for SFH.

@Michael Bishop just curious if you end up looking into Manor after all. I was just there this past weekend and looked at a few houses. There are definitely a lot of new housing development by DR Horton, KB Homes. From a cash flow perspective, if I calculated with traditional 25% down for investment house (in the $180K range), it does not really cash flow because the rent is not high enough and tax is relatively high compared to other areas around Austin (which I am not quite sure why yet). However, I am trying to see if there is a case for housing appreciation. 

Do you pay a fee to set this up? And pay an monthly fee or per check fee ($1) for this? If so, then don't use it. As most people mentioned already, if you so want to, just make 13 monthly payment a year, which will reduces your principle; this is all it takes to reduce your years to pay off the mortgage. When you sign up this kind of program, the bank charges a few, and also they get to keep the money for free and only apply the extra payment every 6 month of annually. Do it yourself online.

@Victor Ayala thank you very much! I will look at the link you share.

@Bret Blackburn the property tax is getting a bit out of hand; for a property  appraised at $170-180K, the property tax is over $4000. It is getting harder to find deals under $200K. Is there any neighbor that you are focusing at?

I owned a couple single family house in North Dallas area. It has been getting much difficult to find houses that make sense from cash flow perspective in North Dallas. Has anyone been looking into the Fort Worth area? What's your take on the job growth and industry diversification in Fort Worth?

I receive rent through PayPal; and you can make it as payment for friends and it will be free. I never thought about legal perspective, but there are so many electronic way to pay rent now, I am just not a fan of receiving checks.

Does anyone have experience of renting SFH to section 8 tenants in Dallas Texas? Would be really appreciated if you can share some pros and cons from your experience? Thank you!

Have you worked with creditable agents in Jersey City NJ area that you can recommend? 

I am looking for condo, multi-family investing around Jersey City (Journal Square, The Heights etc.). Would like to look at some properties this coming weekend. Thank you very much!