All Forum Posts by: Jeff Richardson

We use lifestyles unlimited to find and vet our deals in the Houston area, they are great to work with.

Some lenders will require you to use a third party management company, depending on the size of the deal, but you can purchase them without experience.

@Nadjib Rusangwa We have used Patten Law Firm for all of our closings without any issues.

@Naveen Desai Yes, the property taxes are typically 2%-3% in the DFW area. You can most certainly protest the value of the property with the County appraisal district and a lot of investors win. We typically see about $1,000 shaved off of our taxes owed on our 9 properties each year and that is with us splitting the savings with the company that protests for us.

@Paul Barnwell I would start attending REI meetups that way when you are ready to pull the trigger, your network and team are already in place. Lifestyle's unlimited is a REI group based in Houston and they provide an excellent means to navigate the SFR buy and hold through 600+ unit apartment complexes.

@Nefertari McClarity Fasttrack remodeling has an excellent reputation for both quality and speed.

@Account Closed I wouldn't wholesale a good rental. If it is a good deal, you should be able to buy it on Hard Money, complete the rehab and refinance to conventional with very little money in the deal. I would also recommend completing the rehab to the standard of the comps since that is what your loans will be based on and your rental base and buyer base will be expecting. With that being said, we only put durable finishes in our rental properties i.e. wood-type vinyl plank flooring and solid countertops. That way you get the best loans and the best tenant pool and when you want to sell later you don't have to complete another rehab to get it to market condition. 

We use Lifetime Tax Advisors in DFW, and I've heard good things about ERG 1031

@Troy Ramey made some excellent points, I would also add that you should look into the 3% down payment conventional loan options, as they are typically much better loans for people with decent credit than FHA loans are.

The first thing I would do is get pre-approved with both a HM lender and a long term lender. You have a W-2 so you have a better chance of qualifying for conventional loans once the property is rehabbed, which will give you the best rates and amortization.