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All Forum Posts by: Cameron Tope

Cameron Tope has started 14 posts and replied 1735 times.

Post: Investing in Houston - tips & tricks

Cameron Tope
Posted
  • Property Manager
  • Katy, TX
  • Posts 1,790
  • Votes 1,382
Quote from @Helena Goyvaerts:

Hi you! 

We are considering investing in Houston as foreign investors (from Belgium), our goal is to find and start with a long-term rental single or multi family home. We would buy this house all cash. Any recommendations when it comes to: 
- Real estate agents we should work with? 
- Property Managers that you would highly recommend? 
- A list of ZIP codes that are classified as label B areas? 

Anything you can think of that is relevant for us to know, please drop it below :) 
Thanks !! 

 @Wale Lawal is very experienced as an agent working with investors. 

I would also check out NARPM for a list of local property managers. https://www.narpm.org/about/why-use-a-narpm-member

Best of luck!

Post: Think Real Estate Investing is Only About Cash-Flow??? Think Again!!!

Cameron Tope
Posted
  • Property Manager
  • Katy, TX
  • Posts 1,790
  • Votes 1,382

I was always about cashflow when I started - cost me millions!!!!

Post: Cash Flow is my issue

Cameron Tope
Posted
  • Property Manager
  • Katy, TX
  • Posts 1,790
  • Votes 1,382
Quote from @Remington Lyman:
Quote from @Loan Nguyen:

Im newbie in real estate investing. I’m living in Bay Area where finding deals that generate cashflow is impossible. Any advice where to invest?


Many investors in the Bay Area are turning their attention to midwest markets, such as Ohio, in search of cash flow opportunities. Below is some information about home prices in Ohio, sourced from Google AI. In many of the C-class neighborhoods, rental rates are exceeding the expenses for investors.

As of April 2024, the median price of a home in Ohio was $238,700, which is a 4.7% increase from April 2023. However, home prices vary depending on location:

  • Cincinnati: $319,310
  • Columbus: $348,569
  • Dayton: $261,583
  • Ashland and Athens: Around $203,000
  • Mansfield and Lancaster: Less than $200,000

Ohio's home prices are expected to continue to increase.


 Remington, I own properties in Athens and while the data/statistics/analytics might look great - there are many challenges with actual operations. 

IMO investing out of state requires a fantastic team before you buy a single piece of real estate. 

I've seen great properties get run into the ground by poor operators. 

Having said all that - my Ohio portfolio is nice and steady!

Post: Please Help - Second Property Investment Route

Cameron Tope
Posted
  • Property Manager
  • Katy, TX
  • Posts 1,790
  • Votes 1,382

Hey Mitchell,

Since your goal is to leave your 9-5 (achieving a certain amount of cash flow) then to reach that goal you can either have ~5 paid off rentals or ~20 leveraged rentals. 

The former provides a much lower return on equity but is simpler and easy to achieve over the long run.

The latter is much more time consuming and risky, but provides high returns and a lot of tax advantages. 

Since you said you haven't bought your second property due to "risk averseness, lack of capital and analysis paralysis", then I would go with the fewer paid off properties approach.

Paid off properties are risk averse because of the large amount of equity and cash flow. You also don't need to worry about analysis paralysis or lack of capital as much as if you were looking to acquire a property every six months. 

I would stack cash while looking for a value add opportunity on your current place, or stack cash and continue to analyze deals. When the right deal comes across your desk, and you have the capital, then buy it. Most likely that property will be higher than your 3% mortgage so you can either start to pay that new property off OR stack cash to find the next house.

The best low-money down strategy for this approach is using the owner occupant financing every 1-2 years.  

Oh and one other thing, refinancing or getting a HELOC is not free - there are closing costs, appraisals, points, etc. to consider.

Hope this helps and best of luck! (sounds like you're in a good position!)

Post: Trying to replace your W2 Income with Rental Income????

Cameron Tope
Posted
  • Property Manager
  • Katy, TX
  • Posts 1,790
  • Votes 1,382

Thanks Morgan! Definitely something I wish I would have thought more about before leaving the W2 world!

Post: Seeking Advice on Leasing Our Home and Moving to a Mobile Home

Cameron Tope
Posted
  • Property Manager
  • Katy, TX
  • Posts 1,790
  • Votes 1,382
Quote from @Jacob Swihart:

Hello BiggerPockets community,

My wife and I purchased a house in Katy, TX a few years ago for $230k, right before the market surged. We secured a 3.2% interest rate and currently owe about $200k. The house is now worth approximately $315k.

Initially, we thought we'd stay here long-term, but we ended up with a larger house than we need. We've decided we want to move further out and get a few acres. Additionally, my commute is 25 miles each way.

Here's our plan:

1. **Lease our current house**: We believe leasing our house could be a good idea.

2. **Buy a mobile home**: We plan to buy a mobile home and place it on a leased lot 13 minutes from my office.

3. **Save money**: With reduced expenses (gas, power, tolls, etc.), we estimate that we will be about to increase our savings from about $600 per month to about $2,000 per month.

4. **Future plans**: After a few years, we aim to put a down payment on a piece of land and move the mobile home there.

Our goals are to build equity in our current house while working towards owning a nice piece of land and maybe eventually building a nice house on it.

**Questions:**

- I have no idea if my calculations on what the my costs for leasing the house are anywhere near accurate. My current payment with taxes and insurance is $1613/month(this is with pmi of $85/month. I just submitted a request to remove it). I'm seeing similarly sized homes leasing in my area for $2300/month. How big of an impact is losing the homestead exemption?

- How should I start with this? What do I need to learn? Are there any books I need to read?

- How do I find a tenant and manage a lease?

I'm not sure if this plan sounds crazy but my wife is on board and I think it's probably a good path to getting us where we want to be. I'm also not afraid of a little hard work but I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed and would appreciate any advice or guidance on where to start and what to focus on.

Thank you!


 Hey Jacob, 

It sounds like a great plan!

Couple things I wish someone told me when I rented out my primary in Katy:

- your taxes will go up dramatically over time 

- cash flow is inconsistent

- while Katy is a fantastic rental market it's still competitive

To answer your questions: 

- yes, the homestead exemption will increase your taxes at a faster rate but you can protest them either yourself (I don't recommend as I've tried and it was a pain) or with a professional service

- To start, you're either going to pay for books, classes, etc. or pay the school of hard knocks. Just search on BiggerPockets - there's a ton of great resources

- I would HIGHLY recommend using a leasing agent to find you a tenant. That was one of the most difficult and time consuming things when I was managing my own properties. And finding a good tenant makes the management MUCH easier. 

Glad that your wife is on board - that's over half the battle!

Best of luck!

Post: Property Managers, Red Flags?

Cameron Tope
Posted
  • Property Manager
  • Katy, TX
  • Posts 1,790
  • Votes 1,382
Quote from @Bob Beach:
Quote from @Cameron Tope:
Quote from @Nathan Gesner:
Quote from @Bob Beach:

Why did you choose this mom-and-pop manager? Is it because they were cheaper? You thought they would have more time to focus on your property and treat it like it was their own?

Cheaper doesn't mean better. I recommend you look for a professional manager who knows what they are doing.

Good on you for checking on their work and catching this problem. It's important to supervise your manager, at least for a while, to ensure their words back up their actions.


 This! 


 I've used the brick and mortar PM's (Evernest) with mixed luck. I saw a few people on BP that were using the "mom n pop" and recommended her. Just trying to find an honest service for an honest dollar. 





 Definitely not easy! Unfortunately everyone thinks they can manage property...

Post: Looking for my first investment property and need some help

Cameron Tope
Posted
  • Property Manager
  • Katy, TX
  • Posts 1,790
  • Votes 1,382
Quote from @Ehud Hochman:

Hi everyone,

I am looking to purchase something fairly soon.  I have a down payment of approximately $100k.  I am looking for a very good deal in a good location.  I prefer not to deal with areas that have harsh winters.  Can someone please recommend some good markets to look in where I can get the most for money and where the investment would be relatively safe?  I want a property that is in somewhat good repair that only needs a bit of a face lift (on a scale of 1-100, I want a property that is above 75).  I am located in California and definitely do not want to invest here due to the overly tenant friendly laws.  Would prefer somewhere with landlord friendly laws.


Thank you in advance!

Ed 

Hey Ed,

The safest place to invest is one where you have a competitive advantage - whether that's an incredible team, useful skillset or favorable situation. 

There are people making money all over the country, from Ohio to in your backyard of California. 

This isn't the answer that people like but it's honest. 

But I do favor the Greater Houston market. 

All the best!

Post: Suitable property Management

Cameron Tope
Posted
  • Property Manager
  • Katy, TX
  • Posts 1,790
  • Votes 1,382
Quote from @Michael Smythe:

@Nikky Jarvis you can find some posts about Mynd here via search. 

They had some problems in the past, but many of their offices seemed to have improved.

Still, recommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.

Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder, etc.

Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

To avoid going through the same poor experience, keep reading.

Even if someone gives you a referral here, do NOT make the mistake of assuming that the PMC will meet your expectations, just because they met the expectations of the referral source.

In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make when selecting a Property Management Company (PMC) is ASSUMING instead of CONFIRMING.

It's often a case of not doing enough research, as they don't know what they don't know!

Owners mistakenly ASSUME all PMCs offer the exact SAME SERVICES and PERFORM those services EXACTLY THE SAME WAY, so price is the only differentiator – so, they often select the first PMC they call or that calls them back!

So, the first question they usually ask a PMC is about fees - instead of asking about services and HOW those services are executed.

EXAMPLE: PMC states they will handle tenant screening – what does that specifically mean? What documents do they require, what credit scores do they allow, how do they verify previous rental history, etc.? You’d be shocked by how little actual screening many PMC’s do!

This also leads owners to ASSUME simpler is better when it comes to management contracts.

The reality is the opposite - if it's not in writing then the PMC doesn't have to provide the service or can charge extra for it!

A well written management contract should clearly spell out what is expected of both the PMC and the owner, to PROTECT both and avoid misunderstandings. Why do you think purchase contracts are so long and have such small print?

We recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.

EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!

P.S. If you just hire the cheapest or first PMC you speak with and it turns into a bad experience, please don’t assume ALL PMC’s are bad and start trashing PMC’s in general. Take ownership of your mistake and learn to do the proper due diligence recommended above😊

@Nikky Jarvis There's a lot of solid advice from @Michael Smythe!

Only thing to add - there seems to be two main types of PMCs - one that looks to the owner drive the decisions and keep things organized, the other is a professional that puts the owner and property into an effective system. 

If you want the former, go with the Mynds of the world. 

If you want the latter, check out NARPM and find a solid local company. 

All the best!

Post: Looking for an experienced MTR property manager near Houston area

Cameron Tope
Posted
  • Property Manager
  • Katy, TX
  • Posts 1,790
  • Votes 1,382

May, 

A lot of pros and cons to MTR. 

I would start your search with NARPM.org to find a local company that can handle your needs. 

Best of luck!

Cam