All Forum Posts by: Juan Cristales

 I feel your pain! It's like you're telling my story. People call me a control freak, I like to call myself a "control enthusiast." (talking about me personally by the way...) All jokes aside, mastery in this field requires that you get into the weeds of it because it's only then that you know what good looks like. I'm sure you can probably do a rehab in your sleep and hitting HARD timelines in my opinion is good for my mental health and budget. 

I've always found that City Engineers know more about what going on as a whole than planning commissions and even entire departments inside the local jurisdiction. They're alway busy of course but meeting with them for a focused, rapid fire shot of ideas has worked for me. I've learned so much about the "future plans" for the local areas and adjacent areas, MAJOR infrastructure concerns that sometimes the public isn't even aware of. Good topic! I'd love to learn more about it. 

Hey David! Congrats on making the moves and the eagerness to find out as much as you can. Thanks for your service! If you work with a mortgage broker, they typically do their best to find you the most competitive rates as they aren't tied to any one lender. There are always fees and yes, the VA Loan is a great way of getting started. Here's a few items I wished I had done a better job on from my very first house:

1. Moving to a new duty station means increase in insurance and and property management. Don't let it be a deal killer, it's part of the business and you'll make out fine if you can hang on to this property long-term.

2. Collecting local trusted contractors. I totally failed in this regard. Bought a new house so it didn't need much maintenance. Then when I left and the house needed maintenance, I had to rely on the property manager for contractors... it didn't work out well for me. It might be totally different for you.

3. I went through SEVERAL property managers unfortunately. Since you're going to be the "property manager" while you are there, I recommend putting together some sort of SOP or some sort of guide-sheet you can hand a property manager. I didn't do this and my expectations vs what I got just didn't line up and it was very frustrating for me. I'm sure it was no cake-walk for the property manager either. 

4. Summer movers in the military. This is a BIG one I had no real idea about. Try your best to coincide the end of tenant leases during the summer months and start marketing the rental early enough. You get some people that are like you and like to plan early. If you wait too long and your rental gets stuck in the fall and winter months, it may take a little longer to lease. 

5. Stay away from young military couples who have such a short amount of time being in the military and are already married. They're not all bad but for many of them, it's their first time away from home with big responsibilities and they are still trying to figure it all out. They may make the money but they don't know/understand basic things like changing out air-filters for the HVAC or simple items like cleaning up after themselves. They think because you have a rental, you're somehow Mr. Moneybags. LOL!

Ok.. made this post too long.. Best of luck! You got this! 

12k sf lot is a good sized lot in Houston. Most engineers and architects (who build and draw there) will offer a free consultation for something like this. They would be able to help guide you as to the density (or number of total units) that would be allowed on this lot. You do have some DOT (dept of transportation) considerations along with Emergency Service access. All that means is that if you decide to do a row of duplexes, quads, etc... to one side or the other of the lot, firetrucks and ambulances would need to have enough room to be able to turnaround.

On road frontage, it is always desirable to have all the front-doors to the units facing the street. Since your lot looks to be a little more narrow on the street side, get with an architect/engineer that can quickly answer that and give you feedback. 

Do the research on that first. Decide on what is going to be the highest and best use for the land. This way you'll have an idea of the scale of the project. Once you've determined that you can determine how you will fund this endeavor. 

Always be talking to private lenders about their appetite for something like this. 

Juan-

 I see. It's a good sized lot. Have you decided fully which route you're going to take and how you're going to fund the project? Those are two big questions on that front. 

Working on getting the final details completed on this duplex. 

I was excited the city was there working on some water taps... turns out they did not bring any water meters... 

All good. Jumped into action. Called the city. Talked to some people and it got figured out. 

Let's go!

Build 2 Rent,

Juan-

Trying to take a look at your drawing here... where is the road frontage?

What's up Damien! I'm in Conroe and Willis doing ground up duplexes. I'm happy to help you with any questions you have. I have 1 duplex at day 90. Another at day around 30. Two more that JUST started and we're doing the fill dirt. All of them are duplexes. Happy to answer any questions you have. Good to hear you're taking the plunge into new. I wish I would have started with new construction. The good thing is that my kids will know/learn new construction. 

Juan-

What's up dude! Congrats on looking to GROW like this!

Here's my answers based off my personal experience. I'm in Texas. 

- How do I know/confirm how much of the lot can be developed (i.e. sometimes the lots are steep slopes or swamp lands). I'm echoing Jamie Hora. Find a local architect & engineer who actually does work in that area. They know the answers to these questions or can find out very quickly. There is normally a "Senior" Building Official/Inspector person who has like 50 years experience at the city permitting and will know or direct you. 

- How do I develop with the potential to subdivide to separate single family home lots? Start with the end in mind, right... my area has a 'minimum' street width for single family. Ask the permitting office for what their minimums are for road frontage and minimum for living sf. That's usually documented and filed for record with the city. 

- Which permits will I need and what is the process to follow? Once you have done the legwork of figuring out the best course of action (subdividing, number of houses, etc) most places you as the owner will need to submit a set of building plans (or set of plans on how you want to subdivide). They will review for approval. AFTER approval, they will grant you any type of permit. This is why a local architect and engineer are important as they know what is likely not going to fly with the city. 

... Many other blind spots that I recognize I haven't figured out yet... 

Man I tell you I started doing fix and flips many years ago and I wish I would have started in new construction instead. It's a bit of a longer process but in my opinion, there are less surprises of things that can go wrong. 

I used to freak out about the inspectors showing up at my job site until I realized they have my best interest in mind. Many of them are very nice and super helpful people. If I legit don't know... they are happy to school me up if I ask in advance.

Hope this helps bro! Get it!

I'm probably going to get "hait-mail" that grey tones are played out... 

Please remember that we are not our own clients and at the end of the day, if they complain about it, it's to their realtor, showing manager, what-have-you person. I am looking for an easy to repeat model. 

I used to think every house had to be unique.... until I realized it didn't need to be.

Here is my "thing that I do" for these duplexes. There will be a yard separating the yards and each one will get its own little firepit thing (waiting on the black rings that go inside). This additional living space I feel makes people see themselves living there and enjoying the fire... because, who doesn't enjoy a nice firepit?

Build it!

Juan-