All Forum Posts by: Kyle Handy

@Logan J.

I definitely don't want to step on any toes and I'm sure the realtor you are with will do a fantastic job.  Any advice I give on here won't be to try and solicit you away from the agent you are already using.

MF in San Antonio, in my opinion, is like you say, not necessarily somewhere I'd want to live.  As an investor they can be fine as they could potentially cash flow well but there aren't very many percentage wise compared to other cities so the selection is few and far between and the majority are not going to be something I'd consider living in myself as a house hack type of living.

In your price range your better off finding a nice SFR in northwest or northeast san antonio and if you're so inclined having roommates pay the majority of your mortgage, all the while building equity through debt pay down and appreciation.

I'd go 5% conventional all day long.  Use what @Rick Pozos suggested to get some closing costs paid or use your realtor to negotiate in the seller pay a decent chuck of the closing costs (even if that meant increased the sales price a little bit)  With these low interest rates I'd lock in my 4% rate on money for 30 years as much as possible.  Cash is king so hold onto as much money as you can and use that to either save for potential maintenance or invest it in another property down the road. 

Good luck!

Logan Jung - Couldn't agree more with Rick Pozos . It is a large decision but with cost of living here in SA extremely low and mortgage rates still very affordable, the advantage of owning a home, taking tax advantages and potentially getting some cash flow back from renters (if this is something you decide to do) outweighs the disadvantages. I'd recommend putting down 5%. Don't worry about the 20%. Try to replenish the savings for maintenance items. You'll be well on your way to increasing your net worth. The difference between the average net worth of a renter and homeowner is astronomical. Even if a move was in your future, San Antonio's a great place to rent a home in the price range I would recommend for you ($135,000 - $165,000 home) Plenty of 3/2 1-story homes in that range in nice areas. I've personally purchased 3 homes that fit that exact bill for investment purposes here in SA in the past 5 months so they are absolutely out there. Let me know if you'd like to talk more about it.

Travis Christian , A couple questions. If you go option one, isn't there a period of time you have to wait before doing a cash out refi? Have you considered this into the equation? Wouldn't the cost of a cash out refi be approximately the same as originating a mortgage from the start, thereby eliminating the cost saving advantage? If you were forcing equity into the property by purchasing at an extreme discount or doing decent rehab whereby it would be worth more quickly, I may be inclined to think option one so that you could refi out and have less of your cash tied up in the deal.

Hey Tomas Patterson , Tons of great people here in San Antonio to talk with to help get you started. Best advice I'd give is to make a business plan before you make any decisions. Find someone here who's specifically done what you are doing and make sure your plan is in line with what you should be doing, both efficiently and effectively. The times you think my ways better and you just run after the next idea is when time and money gets wasted. Good luck!

Thanks @Robert Melcher.  I know they are definitely going the separate self-contained dwelling route.

Hoping someone can chime in if they know specific neighborhoods that these types of properties exist and it's allowed (without me having to track down HOA docs and read through, etc...). Trying to narrow the neighborhoods down to be able to setup a search for these clients.

I'm working with a client that is considering the idea of "house hacking" a home in the above titled areas as well as any other similar types of neighborhoods in SA.  They are wanting to find something nice that has a garage apartment or detached quarters that they could rent out to supplement the monthly payment.  Willing to spend between $300k-500k.  Does anyone know if these areas allow for this (I think, yes...) but more importantly what minimum requirements would this detached space need to be considered "rentable".  Thanks.  *Bonus question, what other neighborhoods should I look at for similar level of properties that may offer these types of homes?  Castle Hills?

Great posts by both @Seth Teel & @Chad Clanton.  I agree with both of these posts.  I'm in the same boat, trying to find a good contractor.  I think the problem also arises that when someone truly finds a good one they may be a little more hush, hush about it so as not to get the guy spread thin and potentially lose a good contractor in their pocket... Just my 2 cents.

Aaron Grant - then you don't rent to them. Have your minimum standards and don't budge. If requiring a social to run background/credit (which you should) don't start bending the rules to allow people to do what "they" prefer. You'll start the precedence that your rules don't matter and whatever the tenant wants should be made exceptions to. Certainly not the tenant I would want long term.

@Chris Bernardo I stick to residential. No idea about commercial... I'm sure there are more qualified people to speculate on that than me. 

@Karla Talancon - check out Ed Guerrero. Just google him. He's a CPA here in SA. Does a lot of things with commercial investments and knows all aspects of real estate. I use him for my personal and corporate taxes. Just let him know I sent you!