All Forum Posts by: Greg Hellings

Indeed. If I sell any time in the next 3 years I can skip capital gains taxes. But I could also 1031 exchange it later, if I choose to sell after that time. Not quite as good, but it alleviates most of the pain. It also gives me runway to make this decision thoughtfully and not in a rush.

So I'm only one deal into my REI journey. A flip last year that didn't go so hot, but I'm out from under it now. Taking my next step and it's decision time.

Situation: we bought a new primary residence one block over from our current house, back in June. Same neighborhood, HOA, even the same bus stop for our kids. Contractor work just finished up, so we will be moving in the next couple of weeks. The current house was bought in 2017 for $260,000, refinanced in 2021. We owe $149,000 on it at 3.1%, value is right around $475,000. PITI sits at $1550/mo. I have a local bank who just allowed me to open a $200,000 HELOC on it with no fees.

Option 1: I can keep the house and rent it out. It's on the larger side for the rental market in town and would probably command about $3200/mo gross rent. It cash flows easily. The neighborhood is desirable, so renting it wouldn't be difficult but it would be niche because of its size (4/3, office, dual living rooms, game room). I could still access equity through the HELOC for future expansion and the rent would cover HELOC interest payments while I stabilize future assets.

Option 2: I can sell it and pull all the equity tax free, since I'm married and it's our primary residence. I could move that equity into other projects, including properties that would rent for more efficient rates (rentals in the 3/2 to 4/2 2000sf range here tend to go for about $2200-2400/mo). The selling market is a bit soft here the past couple months, though, which is why we were able to get a great deal on our new house. My realtor friends say that our market in town always slows down the 3-6 months before a Presidential election before roaring back in November. 

I'm sure I'm missing some other options, but none come instantly to mind. Splitting this house isn't an option as our HOA is very strict about single FAMILY residency.

Does anyone have advice? What would you do in this situation? I plan to do at least 4 more deals over the next 12 months.

I'm looking for a partner in the DFW market.

I have a house flip I got into thinking it was a cosmetic flip. When we got into the work it proved to be more than I bargained for and needs either a full rehab or a ground up new construction. I haven't done either before, so I'm in over my head on this.

Does anyone with experience in such projects want to partner with me on it? Or do you know someone who would want to? I've already got title to the property in my LLC name, so it should be relatively simple to modify ownership interest in the business to split equity.

Current house: 2/1, 702sf, 1920 build. Foundation (pier and beam) fully repaired and plumbing replaced this winter, but discovered additional deficiencies in the process.

Town: Waxahachie, TX

New builds in the neighborhood tend to be 3/2 or 4/2 and selling in the $250-280k range.

Does anyone have experience subdividing small, vacant lots in the Dallas area (e.g. ~1 acre or less dividing into 2-4 lots)? Anyone you have worked with to get that done, then subsquent new construction? City Hall lists needing a surveyor to do the division, and I definitely don't have any of those in my rolodex. New build single family contractor references also welcome.

I would also love to participate in some Dallas area meetups!

Is renting to college kids at the university feasible? Could be an avenue to consider?