All Forum Posts by: Jeff D.

Thanks @Wayne Brooks! 

Well, assumption here is based on a friend who worked in a large title office here in the area. He shared with me that they used very limited technology in day to day operations. I ended up closing with that firm and it took several weeks to certify title on a seemingly straight forward transaction. Purpose of this post was to hopefully understand how others work through this process and see if there is any kind of need. 

Yeah, I had planned to do that, but wanted to have a bit of context/ perspective from others before doing that. 

@Al Wilson are these county records publicly available online or are they mostly offline paper based archives. How about the title mills - are those some kind of internal, online database that a title company has access to? 

Trying to better understand how this process works as I think believe it's still quite primitive and could be automated if the right data exists in the right format. I'd like to explore this further to see if it's an opportunity worth pursuing.

Can you help me understand the step by step process a title company would complete to certify title (provided title insurance) on a property that is being purchased? In addition, what information do they need at each step, what is the source of this info, and how long does it take to get.

Hi All, 

I finally bit the bullet and bought a house which will serve as my primary residence. Instead of a fixer, I ended up with something done which I hope to hold onto for 5-7 years while property values in Austin continue to rise. 

I have a room mate who will move in and pay rent. He will also watch the property for me/ help maintain it while I travel (often for weeks at a time). 

The question I have what expenses (utilities, maintenance, updates, etc) can I deduct if I have a room mate and what portion of the total expenses can I deduct? 

Room mate will have his own room, but will have equal use of all other rooms (ex the master) in the house. 

Does this mean I can deduct 50% of all expenses? 

Thanks in advance for your help. 

-Jeff

Hi All, 

Looking for a current list of people in the Austin area who wholesale in the following zip codes: 78730, 78731, 78704, 78745, and 78749. 

Who do you know that's reputable and works in these areas.

Thanks,

Jeff

Looking at a package deal of 5 properties (4 duplexes and a triplex) this week in Ohio. Had a family member do a drive by this morning and says exterior of the properties look rough and not well kept. 

Question I have for you is when looking at a new investment- how much attention do you pay to the properties current condition. If property looks poorly kept do you pass or estimate the cost of upgrades/ repairs/ improvements? Current owner has had properties for 15-20 years. 

I've only looked at the financials so far and they make all kinds of sense- about $25k per door to purchase and average of $188/ month net cash flow per door (after mortgage, insurance, taxes, etc).  Have also factored in 60k for improvements.

My thought process is that improvements could cover some of the big ticket items + improving curb appeal enabling me to raise rents 5-10% and exceed my 70% ARV target. Seems like a good deal to me, but I'm concerned that lack of upkeep could mean bigger issues below the surface.

What do you think?

Thanks folks. I'll definitely get the rent role to verify the rents + dig into expenses with the owner. Haven't read the book you suggested @Stephanie, but will check it out. I'm sure it's not much different then digging into the balance sheet on small businesses. 

I'll be inspecting the properties myself this go around, if they look good I'll definitely hire an inspector to go through each before writing an offer. I have friends/ family in the area who can help with this if need be.

I'm headed to Ohio later this week to look at several multifamily properties for sale as part of a package deal. These will be the first properties I've purchased and I want to make sure I'm asking the right questions before I write an offer. 

I've asked the seller for the rental history (has owned 20+ years) and the repair/ maintenance history. Is there anything else I should be asking for before I make a decision?

Thanks in advance!