All Forum Posts by: Gregory Schwartz

if you share your buy box with us, we'll have a better point of reference to help point out the market. Are you looking for retirement in 10 years and an appreciating market or are you looking for a cash flow now maybe a short term rental or inexpensive cash flow market

@Andrew Kubik how's any different than a competent real estate agent who can provide the same connections. In College Station TX A lot of the investor focused agents will also help list your investment property for rent. 

I agree. Austin still has great underlying fundamentals as a market IMO. Just not a big fan of the ups and downs personally 

Keep it in-house. Maintain control, maximize your ROI, and keep what sounds like an amazing handyman!

In my experience, property management companies often lead to higher vacancies, higher maintenance costs, and lower rental income compared to competent self-managing investors. On the surface, it might seem cheaper to hire a PM company, but when you factor in vacancies, maintenance, and under-market rents, you’ll likely come out ahead by managing it yourself.

I used to work for a local investor with 500+ units, all in one town. His in-house management team cost way more than a typical PM company—but because he controlled the key metrics, he outperformed the competition. We had our systems so dialed in that during the busy season, we averaged just 4–5 days of vacancy between tenants while turning 10–15 units a week!

@Simon Delony

I was in a similar spot about eight years ago—listening to 2–3 podcasts a day, reading two books a month, and building spreadsheet models like crazy. My wife, on the other hand, didn’t seem to care.

Today, we run a real estate agent team and manage our 26 rental units together. She handles admin and property management, while I focus on acquisitions as the licensed agent.

So what changed? I stopped trying to get her to listen to podcasts (she still doesn’t) and instead, over time, she read just two books: Set for Life and Retire with Real Estate. The truth is, she still doesn’t love real estate investing—but we both love the life we’re building through it.

Maybe the key is giving her space. Instead of focusing on REI itself, try shifting the conversation to how you want to build something together with her by your side. Hope this helps!

Austin’s housing market has seen a nearly 23% decline since May 2022, according to Redfin. However, steady markets like Bryan and College Station, Texas, have experienced appreciation of 15% to nearly 16% over the same period.

Smaller markets may not get as much attention as major cities like Austin, but they can sometimes be more insulated from the volatility we’re seeing in larger metros.

Have you found that secondary markets in your area are holding up better than the big cities?

Man that sounds really frustrating after reading this. I'm thankful that I made a decision to self manage. even at a  distance I think it helps you avoid a lot of headaches

we ran into this recently. The solution was to pre-lease the unit your living in collect security deposit in first months rent. For most lenders, they wanna see a 12 year lease in order to count the income to help your debt income ratio. 

there are not many lenders that I know of that will include short term or midterm income as part of the income side of your DTI.

I understand it's frustrating. But you have to remember that house hacking is such a powerful strategy that naturally it's gonna have a few obstacles

@Hunter Beck hope you can make it! if not, always feel free to reach out 

I've only used Airbnb for midterm bookings. I've never had an issue. we don't get security deposits or sign any leases. Knock on wood, but I haven't had to try to evict anybody yet