All Forum Posts by: Dustin Blackmon

I think the key here is you bought a rent ready property.  It sounds like a beautiful thing but that is a long term game as you cant force appreciation into something at the top of the market.  Sit back and let it grow.  I have been investing anywhere I can from San Antonio to New Braunfels on IH35 north of 1604 mainly for convenience as I live in Schertz, but the appreciation has been excellent in this area.  High growth suburbia without the headaches of dealing with NB permits and short-term rental permits.    

 sent you a direct message

I understand.  I was worried about the amount of time it takes to follow up with my properties when I first started.  I think I may use an hour a month total managing my properties.  I just make sure to answer my phone, check my email and return text messages.  Easy when you set your house up for sucess before the tenant moves in and do a good job picking a tenant.  I like to use this website for applications and credit check.

200 bucks a month goes in my pocket instead of a property manager. 

Landlord Credit Checks for Tenants | TransUnion SmartMove (mysmartmove.com)

Have you considered managing yourself?  I am a local investor in the Cibolo area and manage my own rentals.  It's not hard and I would be willing to help you through the steps from start to finish at no cost to you.  I like to teach so it can only make us both better.  I have moved my primary home and turned my home into a rental 4 times in the Schertz- Cibolo school district in the last 5 years.  

I am looking at a property that has a 50 foot deep Cistern.  A cistern is not a well that reaches ground water . It is a hole dug to catch rain water.   I want to purchase the property as it is in a desirable area for short term rentals but not sure how to seal off this Cistern well.   Anyone have experience in this situation?  

Consider the small municipalities around San Antonio.  I have found more opportunities in these communities and less red tape with permitting in some situations.  

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $117,000
Cash invested: $23,400

This home was purchased as an investment property while living in Colorado. We did not have to spend our proceeds from our first home sale on our primary because of a no money down FHA loan. We did have to put up 20 percent for this one. My wife was ready to move back to Texas and she started shopping. We found a foreclosure on /www.homepath.fanniemae.com

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

This property was purchased with the intention of moving back to Texas and converting our primary home in Colorado into a cash flowing rental. After learning the power of owning real estate we knew this would be the way to continue generating wealth.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

The realtor submitted full price offer but asked for closing costs and they accepted our offer. No repairs were negotiated during the contract.

How did you finance this deal?

We used a conventional loan with percent down. We sold our first home in San Antonio before moving to Colorado and used a 0 down program to buy our primary but as a 2nd home, we had to put down a 20 percent. Thankfully we did not touch our money we earned a year prior, and it was used to purchase this home.

How did you add value to the deal?

This home needed a ton of work. My wife just had a baby so this live in project was all me. I started by repainting the home and fixing drywall room by room. Then replaced the HVAC, windows and flooring. We also replaced the shower tub combo with new tile and tub. My wife loves to put up pretty tile, so she was a huge help on the bathroom project.

What was the outcome?

The home has been a reliable cash flowing rental. I have a great tenant and since we purchased the home 5 years ago, it has doubled in value.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Buy a home, work on the home, buy another home, rent this home and repeat. Hard work pays off and the more you do it, the easier it becomes.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I am a Realtor with Fathom realty and help my clients build wealth through real estate.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $117,000
Cash invested: $23,400

This home was purchased as an investment property while living in Colorado. We did not have to spend our proceeds from our first home sale on our primary because of a no money down FHA loan. We did have to put up 20 percent for this one. My wife was ready to move back to Texas and she started shopping. We found a foreclosure on /www.homepath.fanniemae.com

This home was rough, it needed a full electrical panel upgrade and rewire to make the home safe enough for my family to move into. The home needed some love. While living at this home we worked hard in our careers and saved money to afford upgrades like a new HVAC system, windows and flooring. Not to mention hours of interior labor to bring this old, neglected rental back to life. The property had a really back addition built into an existing patio slab that had to be demolished and made into covered patio.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

This property was purchased with the intention of moving back to Texas and converting our primary home in Colorado into a cash flowing rental. After learning the power of owning real estate we knew this would be the way to continue generating wealth.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

The realtor submitted full price offer but asked for closing costs and they accepted our offer. No repairs were negotiated during the contract.

How did you finance this deal?

We used a conventional loan with percent down. We sold our first home in San Antonio before moving to Colorado and used a 0 down program to buy our primary but as a 2nd home, we had to put down a 20 percent. Thankfully we did not touch our money we earned a year prior, and it was used to purchase this home.

How did you add value to the deal?

This home needed a ton of work. My wife just had a baby so this live in project was all me. I started by repainting the home and fixing drywall room by room. Then replaced the HVAC, windows and flooring. We also replaced the shower tub combo with new tile and tub. My wife loves to put up pretty tile, so she was a huge help on the bathroom project.

What was the outcome?

The home has been a reliable cash flowing rental. I have a great tenant and since we purchased the home 5 years ago, it has doubled in value.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Buy a home, work on the home, buy another home, rent this home and repeat. Hard work pays off and the more you do it, the easier it becomes.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I am a Realtor with Fathom realty and help my clients build wealth through real estate.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $200,000
Sale price: $313,000

This home was purchased with a no money down program in Colorado so our initial out of pocket expense for the investment was zero! Well not free but minus expected expenses like appraisals and inspections but this home was our primary for one year then we moved back to Texas while keeping it as a cash flowing rental property.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

This home was purchased after selling our home we renovated in San Antonio, TX. We bought this because we took a trip one time to Colorado Springs and fell in love. The mountains were amazing, and we wanted to make it our new home. So, we took a gamble and sold our home we forced sweat equity into and took our equity and ran west to start over again.

The first home was purchased with a no money do program and found another one in Colorado when we applied for a mortgage there.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found this using a realtor and the MLS. We got the home under contract and did not ask for any repairs. This home was built in 1907 but I was still able to obtain a home warranty to help offset any new repair costs. Colorado Springs was a very competitive market back in 2016 so we really did not have much negotiating room.

How did you finance this deal?

I used an FHA loan as this was our primary home. I ended up having plenty of reserves since we did not have to spend any of our previously earned profit from the home we sold in Texas. I worked for a Subaru dealer in Texas and transferred up to a dealer in Colorado. We ended up working out a buyer's lease for a month because the mortgage company required one month's pay from that dealer to establish employment as I was commission based in the service department.

How did you add value to the deal?

The home was in livable condition in a very popular area of downtown Colorado Springs. The first thing we started with was an exterior paint job. We then sanded the original hard wood floors and installed all new laminate flooring the basement. I also installed Radon mitigation system and a sump pump closet.

What was the outcome?

The home was not easy to live in. The home was built in 1907 and did not function well for our growing family. So back to Texas we came but this time we brought a 5-day old baby back with us to Texas.
We then turned it over to a property management company and we cash flowed 600 a month which came in handy seeing this place always needed something. The basement flooded twice due to rainwater. We spent 10,000 in flooring, restoration and building a retaining wall.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Sometimes flood insurance makes sense, even in the mountains. This property appreciated quickly due to the location and the growth in the area. We picked the right area and the right school district to help accelerate the appreciation.

I know several agents that have worked for them and were not successful but that does not mean you will not.  I do not like the way they handle their transactions and showings.  Feels very shady and deceptive to the owners of the property.  I am sure it will be a great learning experience but I do not like the way they operate in South Texas.