All Forum Posts by: Carleen L.

You’ve gotten a lot of feedback, but I haven’t seen any from Bell County. I currently live in Temple and have 3 properties there. The one I purchased in 2018 has appreciated about 20%, the one I purchased in 2019 has appreciated 15%. My 3rd property closed in June and I had a tenant lined up before closing. I only had a 7 day vacancy in May during the shut down. Cash flow is great, which is why I bought them but I found great deals and they’ve already appreciated like gangbusters!

In addition, I’ve helped family members look for rental properties in Temple. If a vacancy sits on the market for more than 2 weeks, there is something wrong with it. We get tenants from Ft. Hood, from Scott & White teaching hospital, and commuters to Austin. 

Rents are pretty high IMO at ~$1/sq ft/month. Taxes are just shy of 3%, so not bad for Texas. 

Military makes for great tenants...you can report them to their CO if they don’t pay or take care of your property. Sure, you run the risk of turnover, but Ft. Hood seems to be a pretty steady 2 year commitment. I have one tenant with a 4 year assignment. Scott & White Interns come every spring and stay for 2 years. In both cases, these tenants usually don’t want to move at the end of the lease, so it’s not unusual to see them renew. 

Temple is also growing like mad so you can find a turnkey new home and move tenants in with zero work. It’s getting hard to find anything to flip. 

Hope something of this is helpful. Feel free to reach out if you want neighborhood specifics. 

I would walk away. You only have their word as to the frequency of flooding and you have no idea why it’s flooding now. A sump pump only removes water after it has gotten inside...my preference would be to keep it from getting inside. I have a house with this problem and and the only solution that i know of is a landscape contractor regarding the outside and adding French drains. There isn’t enough time left on this deal to insure that would fix it. I’d walk. Water problems get expensive fast. 

Sorry. 

I know someone who installed a ring doorbell and because their internet keeps going down, their doorbell doesn’t maintain its connection. They’ve had to call for service repeatedly (they aren’t handy themselves). 

If it’s a high end rental, I would consider it, but a smart thermostat would be a better investment IMO. 

Is it lathe and plaster?  Little furring strips behind the plaster?  I have a 100 year old rental with lathe and plaster walls and ceilings. The plaster can be fixed, but it is a messy job. Take a putty trowel and cut through the cracks it get rid of all the loose plaster. Knock off EVERYTHING that is loose. There will be some very large spots and some smaller areas. Using patch filler or drywall mud, fill in the new holes. It will take several layers in some spots. Allow each layer to dry completely before adding more. Once it is dry, it is time to sand, prime and paint. Be sure to sand it so that you get a very smooth surface...if it’s not perfect now, it won’t look any better with paint!

Most contractors will advise you simply put new drywall directly on top of the plaster, and will attach it to the ceiling studs. This is a perfectly acceptable practice and will give you decades of maintenance free repair.  While the repair I described above has lasted around 20 years, I wouldn’t do it on a modern house (which most 19050’s houses are). It is a lengthy and messy process, and there is no financial return for the effort.

Good luck!

Texas has no income tax, so there is no additional cost for tax prep!  You want to find an accountant that specializes in rental real estate—I recently found an error my cpa made for the past 12 years. I’m very unhappy about it. He hated real estate and has been replaced!

Why not check with the city and find out the process to legally turn it into a duplex?  Then you don’t have to worry about mail issues. 

I would figure out a way to separate the heating and cooling though. Expecting tenants to be friendly about it is unrealistic. 

These expenses all look high to me but you don't mention the price of the house.  I would expect them to be about 25-50% lower.  Can you do some of the labor yourself?  Painting especially is easy enough to do...just go slow along the trim and ceilings and you can do a great job.

Keep in mind that if you over improve, you won't see a penny in profit for years potentially.  Keep an eye out for bargains.  I just had new granite installed at 1/2 price because I chose a remnant slab.  Remember that this is a rental, not your own house, so don't go overboard.  Good luck!

Congratulations on making a move on your dream!  You picked a big goal, but it sounds like you are experiencing some success, just not enough cash flow.  Is the existing rent enough to meet your monthly debt payments?  If so, then you are almost at the top of the roller coaster!  It seems like you are doing work in several places simultaneously, which will eat up your capital quickly. With the funds you have remaining, which one lot or rental can you get ready next?  Just focus on that one until it’s rented. Then use those funds to move on to the next. Before going to the bank for more money, make sure you have both photos and financials of before and after. It sounds like you are really turning this park around, and you need proof to take with you to the bank. Good luck!  I’ll be interested to hear your progress!

close that account now and file a police report. 

I’m looking at a package deal and one of the houses is listed as a SFH but is what I would call a duplex or townhouse because of a shared wall. It is detached on the other side. Only one half of this building is for sale. I’ll admit I’m confused by the label “SFH” in this instance since it is attached. In any case, the rest of the deal looks good, but I’m not sure what to expect with this duplex/townhouse? Historically, do they appreciate at a similar rate as SFH? Are they about as easy to rent? Do you have more issues with tenants complaining about neighbors? Obviously there are a lot of unknowns, I’m just looking for generalizations. Thanks!