All Forum Posts by: Charlie Kleindinst

I actually just closed on a duplex that cash flows $700 after expenses in Austin using an FHA. It's fully renovated. Found it on the MLS. You got to be quick out here. This stuff goes fast. You need to look at them within hours of hitting the market. Got to make your offer look good as well. Cant try to low ball. I know this doesn't directly answer your question however a lot of people have told me cashflow doesn't exist in Austin. It does however they are less common. I found another duplex that cashflowed $340 after expenses. I wasn't quick enough on that one. It only took me 2 weeks of looking to find these 2 duplexes with positive cashflow.

Networth realty and Northwestern Aquistions are the only turn key companies I know. However I wouldn't really call them turn key. They're big wholesale firms that offer hard money, comps, and a list of sub contractors. 

If you need a good agent out here PM me and I'll connect you to the guy I used. He's not on bigger pockets however he's been buying fixer uppers and holding them for rental income since the mid 90s. He's very knowledgeable about construction and actually answers his phone and is very easy to get a hold of. He even went to look at a duplex at 11pm on a week night with me. 

I've been qualified on an FHA loan for my first multifamily. 3.5% down. I'm going the house hacking route where I live in one side and rent out the other side on a duplex. Now I've stumbled across a blog on here not too long ago where someone was making triple the income on airbnb over what having a tenant at their current market rental rates are. I feel this could be a valuable strategy as I live in Austin Texas and... There are a lot of tourists and tourist events in this city pretty much all year round. Formula 1, Moto GP, SXSW, ACL, ect.. So living next door and changing sheets doesn't seem like a bad idea for triple the income. I know this is not an accurate estimation of what I could make. Could do worse? Who knows? That's why I'm asking here.

Is it worth it? I mean if I go that route then I would need to furnish the unit with a bed, shower curtains, pots, and pans maybe???? I mean is the cost of furnishing this thing worth what I could potentially make off of airbnb? Or just play it safe and leave it vacant for a tenant? Who's done both? Love to hear some opinions and what I need to do for due diligence? 

I made $22,000 off $300 worth of bandit signs on a wholesale. I can't do bandit signs since I'm licensed now. Plus city of Austin hates them. More so in north Austin. Never caught flak in the south area. 

I'd knock on the neighbors door and get to know him. Ask him how he likes living in the neighborhood and how you're considering buying the house next door. Then ask if he would be interested in selling his house. This way you can see if he's a nice guy for yourself. Probably be best to just knock on all the neighbors doors and ask that same question. Just be neutral about it. Neighbors like to gossip so you'll find out the drama on that street.

There's a lot of talk on this subject on the internet of agents becoming obsolete. The way I see it, is the selling and buying process is so infrequent in someones life, they just go with an agent. Sure there's plenty of services out there to help you in the buying and selling process, however there's nothing out there to help you with negotiations. Plus you're taking a lot of time to try and learn the entire process, and you could easily screw up on the way. Your house is your biggest asset. I feel it's not a smart move to handle it yourself, just like trying to represent yourself in court is not very bright. Plus the affluent are always accustomed to hiring other people to handle stuff for them. So high end houses will almost always be listed with an agent.

The thing about brokerages lowering commissions to get business tells me that they aren't very strong in prospecting, or marketing. I never lower my commission. If I'm lowering my value, what do you think will happen when I negotiate on your house?! People want quality services. You get what you pay for I suppose. You want cheap, then you can get cheap and possibly lose out on the best terms and price.

Another reason to hire an agent is if you have a full time job. Ultimately you do lose out on offers if your house isn't available on other peoples time frames, and you can't answer the phone.

However if you're an investor who understands the process, then by all means you may not need agents. Especially if you don't push volume. I wont try to convince you otherwise, because there are plenty of investors that use agents. It's more convenient, especially if you have a lot of business on your plate as is. Why step over the dollars to pick up the dimes? Having the technician mindset of doing things yourself will prevent you from expanding your business. You free up so much time hiring an agent, so that way you can just let that end go, and focus on higher income earning activities in your business. 

The way I see it is most Americans are consumers. They will pay a lot of money to have quality stuff, like those yeti coolers that cost a couple hundred dollars. Or pay money to have a lawn service mow their lawn for them, making their life a bit easier. Agents aren't going anywhere. Especially if you position yourself in the right manner. It's not about turning and burning clients. Building long term trusted relationships with people whether they buy or sell now, or 10 years down the road is what will keep an agent in business.

I should of been more clear. I meant pain in the rear seller prospects.

Sometimes you have to deal with prospects that aren't easy to work with. I'm just curious to see who drops these pain in the rear prospects, and who actually tries to push forward with them? 

Thanks for the info everyone!

Other than studying the MLS, I get a lot of Realtor insider news letters which really help me determine what's going on in the market as a whole. Also networking with other real estate professionals will help you understand where markets may be going.

As of October 6th :

Austin has come out on top in a study of large U.S. cities with the fastest-growing economies since the recession of 2008, according to a comprehensive study by WalletHub.

WalletHub, is a personal finance company, that compared the socioeconomic strengths of more than 500 U.S. communities in order to put together its study.

Quote: "Austin topped all large cities with a cumulative score of 67.91. Two other Texas cities — Fort Worth and Corpus Christi — are in the top five on the large-city rankings — at No. 3 and No. 5, respectively. Also in the top five are Miami, Florida, at No. 2, and Denver, Colorado, at No. 4"

Austin is still in the top ten cities of any size. 

Below is a list of the top 20 cities of any size, with the fastest-growing economies.

1. Odessa, Texas

2. Frisco, Texas

3. Midland, Texas

4. Mission, Texas

5. College Station, Texas

6. Killeen, Texas

7. Kent, Washington

8. Bryan, Texas

9. Austin, Texas

10. Round Rock, Texas

11. McKinney, Texas

12. Edinburg, Texas

13. San Marcos, California

14. Pharr, Texas

15. Allen, Texas

16. Concord, North Carolina

17. Miami

18. Fort Worth, Texas

19. Denver

20. Asheville, North Carolina

If you need a snap shot on the Austin market or a particular area I'd be happy yo help. Just PM me.

When I first started I went to the local real estate club meetings. I swapped numbers with a wholesaler, and then days later came across my first deal. I called him and he helped mentor me through the first deal and several others. Clubs are a great start. Finding a mentor can really help you get ahead of the curve as well.