All Forum Posts by: Brad Hunton

 I have a contractor that does really good work in Granbury and Fort Worth if you would like his info reach out to me

 I am also in Texas with 16 rentals and was charged around $2,000 with two different tax planning meetings throughout the year.

 This is what I plan to do. $500,000 tax free (if married) is nothing to sneeze at. If of course they go that high. Some will some probably won't. 

I got my start in REI a little later than most here but since 2016 I still have all of the rentals (16 LTR) I have bought over the years. I am in the process of selling a portion of the portfolio but just switching from Class C properties to less problematic Class A properties. Long term rental all the way for me.

Hello, I have a great PM in West Texas that I use to manage my properties. He is based out of Colorado City but manages Snyder, Sweetwater, Big Spring, Colorado City, and just began expanding into Abilene. If you are interested send me a DM.

In the current market we are in (inflation, rates, housing market uncertainty, etc.) what are your thoughts on buying vs renting your primary residence?  

I own a small portfolio of SFH and a couple of duplexes and we have been renting our residence for the past year. Our lease is coming up in a month or so and while we do plan to stay for another year because of our kids I have started to think more about buying. If I buy another house we would have to downsize but our monthly mortgage would still be higher than what I am paying for rent. I know that depending on who you talk to, your primary is not an asset because it does cost you money each month but I still struggle with paying rent and not building any equity.

What are your thoughts either way?

 Just to throw this out there. It is border line blasphemy to call the Amarillo area North Texas, that is the Texas Panhandle. Similar to Stuart Chinworth, having lived in Amarillo to Lubbock area and now to Ft. Worth area I can safely say your perception of Texas is skewed. I invest primarily in those so called West Texas dying towns that you think is completely fossil fuel reliant. Major solar farm projects are currently happening and it also has the largest density of wind farms in the US. While I am bullish on fossil fuels that is not the only thing going on in "dying" small towns that the population seems to slowly grow. Weather wise you can find hot dry deserts (Amarillo) all the way to very humid rain forests (Lake Jackson, south of Houston).

 While I really haven't been invested in this type of market long term (7 years) it has worked well for me thus far.  While my houses have had problems, most of the time the cost to get things repaired also has been lower than in other higher priced markets.  I invested in this market because it was my backyard and I knew everything about it.  While I don't really account for significant appreciation the actual cash flow has been good.  The job market is tied to Oil, Gas, Solar, and Wind so when one is typically up another is down but in my mind it is fairly well diversified. Property management was a challenge at first but I have helped a small company grow with my portfolio and they are killing it for me now.  Tenants can be a struggle but my market is a lot of working class making decent money with all of the energy jobs that my PM thoroughly vets so it has been minimized. All of my rentals in the area range from $50,000-$85,000 but my rents range from $950 to $1,200. A couple of duplexes cost me $100,000 each but they rent for $1,850 for one and $1,600 for the other.  Cash flow has replaced my W2 income but not enough for me step away from a job I enjoy.  From here on out I do plan on investing in my current area that has a big appreciation upside but might be break even or losing $100-$200 per month but the down payments for these houses are what the total houses cost in my tertiary market.  I am glad I started this way and while I would have done some things differently it has worked out well so far.

As a first time home buyer there are options to allow you to get into a house with zero down.  It will just take some researching and talking to lenders, etc.  

In your position I would look to buy as soon as a deal comes up. As others have said house hacking will be your best (safest) bet at this point in your investing career. With the right house you should be able to live for free with the other tenants paying rent to you.  

For example you have a mortgage for $1,500.00 and rent out three rooms for $500.00 each. You live in the 4th room and pay bills but the mortgage is covered. In a year move out and buy a house with an FHA loan at 3.5% down. The room you just moved out of would rent out and you would make $500.00 per month minus any bills you pay. Rinse and repeat for 10 years and you are set. Adjust numbers as necessary for your market.

Just be sure and keep a good amount of reserves for any unexpected costs or repairs.