All Forum Posts by: Dave Chapa

@John Nguyen I would highly recommend Katy, especially Old Town Katy, if possible. I have severe properties (1 SFH, 1 MF and 1 office). Both the SFH and MF are preforming very well. Old Town Katy is a very desirable town. You get the small town feel while still enjoying the convenience of big city amenities.

I lived in Cypress for 12 years, also very nice area. However, I prefer small town properties.

Property taxes are high, regardless of where you live in and around a big city. Only until you move out to the country, is it less.

Old Town Katy 2.4+

Cypress 2.8+ (mud districts) 

Out in the country 1.4+

If you like the Katy area as you stated, then focus on looking for a good started property in Katy. It may take some time, but it would be well worth it in the long run.

And, YES, I am bias to Katy :-).

All my Katy properties are in Old Town Katy (Historic Katy). My slow times are Oct to March, but most of the time we are running 100%.

When I acquired my first rental in 1998, I could not tell you what the market was back then, or even if I cared. I can, however, tell you that there was an opportunity that I seized.

I focus more time on being ready (positioning myself to buy) than worrying about the market.

Now, I not saying watching the market is not critical, it’s just not top on my list. The longer you are in this, the more deals you will run across. I passed on a lot of good deals because I was not ready or my funds were depleted, regardless of the marker.

So, moving into 2021, be ready.

@Marc Griner will do. 

@Courtney King It's good to hear things are going well on your end. 

@Vijaianand Thirunageswaram Yes, good to hear. We requested our PM to help when needed with our properties and, work with the tenants during this hard time. Our PM was on top of it and started a fund to help some of the families.    

Our personal rentals (SFH&MF) have been at 100% in collection, thanks to the great work of our PM.

On our large property MF (we are investor only), it has been hit hard however, it is making headway and, should be back up to normal soon, we all hope by October.

Other than that, it has been steady.

How are my fellow investors doing in rent collection in today's crazy times?

@Kristen Twomey Every RE market has it's challenges, its up to you to find out what works in a given area. All my knowledge is in the Texas market (Houston and the surrounding area). Even with the "The property tax is a scam, the houses fall apart and are have been made by track builders (Perry Homes) with the lowest standards of workmanship". I have done very well, and I am not the only one, ALL my investor friends have done very well with Texas RE. Not excluding many on this forum.  So, don't give up :)  

@Steven Ha I would recommend a property manager. I am local and I have a PM running all my properties. This frees up my time to work on deals, and not chasing clogged toilets.  

@Vijaianand Thirunageswaram This year we joined one passive deal, 202 unit apartment.

Spent a lot of time looking at deals (Partner and solo), mainly MF. None of the numbers worked. We even looked at SFH and passed on several.

@Tony Castronovo We are in the same boat, as you know from our many conversations. However, we had another life change (opportunity) that will put RE on hold, expect for one property we will buy. So, for now we are on hold for the next 3 years.  Than we will be in a better position to focus on larger MF. I'll call you.

@Mike Krieg Yes, cautious is the key. Moving forward we are paying off debt and trying to maintain a 10%+ liquidity.

We can't predict a recession however, we can control what we have. So, sale under performing assets, pay off debt (reduce your debt ratio), this will increase your staying power, IF something happens. And, be ready to jump on opportunities.

There is a healthy balance between risk and opportunity.

We prefer use vinyl, tile, and re-finished hard wood, when its an option.