All Forum Posts by: Gates Mueller

I'm happy to discuss your goals and help out if possible. Contact me if you are interested and good luck!

Texas' population is growing and the economy here is better than the rest of the country. You can read about either of those facts with just a little bit of research. Yes, expansive soils cause foundation issues so repairs should be something you consider. Sure, people complain about property taxes, but the alternative is to be in an area with less growth and a slower economy so keep that in mind. The different real estate markets that are showing huge growth (Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio) all have ups and downs, good areas and bad areas, so you just need to do your homework.

My local MLS app is not that user friendly, and I have clients that use Realtor.com or other apps to browse the market and are often looking at deals that are too good to be true because they have incorrect information. I have my own personal website which uses the internet access protocol from my local MLS (it's called IDX, and that is how the aggregators pull their data also) but is hosted by a third party, so the features are not anywhere near as robust as the large aggregators offerings.

I believe Zillow is involved in some litigation with the State of Texas currently regarding their "Zestimate." Since Texas is a non-disclosure state, Zillow's pricing information is not always based on actual sale prices. Using county appraisal districts and other sources does not provide an accurate price in many areas. If you get deep into the settings on Zillow there is a way to see the "pricing accuracy" for certain areas, I believe San Antonio is rated 1 or 2 stars out of 5 stars, but that may have changed since I last checked.

I have a free trial with IXACT and the setup seems so time consuming I have not fully embraced it yet. The best CRM is the one you will actually use, which in my case so far isn't working out so well. Lots of agents I know use Top Producer, I've been thinking about giving it a try. Their interface seems less complicated compared to IXACT.

@Sydnie Gregory I tend to agree with all the other comments. The way you carry yourself, your knowledge, experience, confidence, and appearance all factor into each situation in different ways. Taking the time to expand your knowledge and get involved with different aspects of the real estate industry will pay off in the long run, just don't go into it with a short term mentality and you should be fine.

Welcome @Matt Mathias and also @Jaclynn Chavez! 

@Greg Kit (sorry, wrong reply) I have not done much market research that far south, but I am familiar with the areas just north of there (still south of Downtown/Southtown). Back during the Eagle Ford boom things on the south side of San Antonio seemed to be developing but have slowed since then. What are you interested in doing around the Brooks City Base area?

There are lots of opportunities closer to the downtown area still, and if you are looking for a long term investment there has been growing hype about the Lonestar Brewery/Mission Trails area. I know how easy it is for future developments like that to fall through, so when I hear someone say "once that is built in 3 or 4 years" I always take it with a grain of salt.

@Joshua Morgan I'm not sure why those properties would need to be non-conforming loans, but there are lenders that can provide those products. Generally there will be a higher down payment and/or rates.

Just seeing if anyone in San Antonio would like to start a regular get together (once a month) to talk about real estate and investing?