All Forum Posts by: Derek Harris

@Greg Koszkul the best way to accurately measure the rehab cost is to walk the property with a contractor that you trust and/or through experience of your own. I recommend reading the Book on Estimating Rehab Costs. It will give you a rough estimate on what to expect for different rehab line items. You should also try to find an investor local to that market. As far as basing it off pictures, there's always risk that the property is way worse than what the picture shows. I would look over the seller's disclosure, if available, and possibly have someone on ground to walk the property for you and take their own pictures. 

Robert, I've used R Bank for a few projects and have been satisfied with their service. The loan process is so much easier through them than with one of the big banks. 

@Winny Wen, I have a few properties in Taylor, TX that cash flow very well. There are also great opportunities in Round Rock, Hutto, and Georgetown. 

 Winny, from my experience in this area, you have to choose between cash flow or appreciation. The further you move away from Austin, the higher cash flow you will receive, but you will see slower appreciation rates. Also, since you mentioned you're an out of state investor, be aware that property taxes in Texas are quite high and can definitely eat into any potential cash flow.

 Hi Robert, my suggestion is to have them build a relationship with a local community bank since they have more flexibility in their lending requirements. Alternatively, have they considered cosigning the loan with someone else? If it's a great deal, they should have no issues finding a partner. 

Hey Richard, are you a member of the Investor Underground group or Contractor Underground group on Facebook? You might get a lot better luck on there. It's a great resource.

@Rich Hupper, I agree with @Chinmay J.. In my opinion, the money spent on a real estate degree would be better spent on acquiring properties. I know a ton of successful real estate investors and none of them have a degree in real estate.

However, to answer your question, I've heard good things about Texas A&M's real estate program.  

It all depends on the market and neighborhood. In my market, one bedrooms typically consist of a more transient population and there is extremely high turnover. Additionally, there is no room for growth in a one bedroom unit and a lot of people will eventually find a significant other or increase the size of their family thus causing them to upgrade their living space. Keep in mind, this is the situation in my market and is different in a more singles-friendly city. 

I would suggest doing a thorough due diligence and seeing what the trends are in that particular neighborhood.  

From my experience, when buying a property that already has tenants in place, it's best to close in the middle of the month. This is especially true if you plan on switching the property management company. Sometimes is confuses tenants and they send payments to the wrong place. 

@Darsh Makim, what are your investment goals? Do you want to invest passively? What is your experience level? What is your risk tolerance? What market are you located in? Do you want to invest in that market or does it not matter where the location is? 

If you provide more information, I can give you my opinion.