All Forum Posts by: Travis Hintzel

I am looking into purchasing a house for 120k. I am, of coarse, aware that I will need to have 20% up front (24k) because it is an investment property. What other cash costs can I expect to incur on the front end?

@John Chapman

Thanks John,

Nice to hear from another Dallas investor. I am looking at the Denton area near UNT. Thank you for the insight into the Plano market. That may come in handy in the future. Do you have experience in the Denton market that you could pass on regarding a 3/1 setup?

@Marcus Isaac

Thanks for the input Marcus. The school is called University of North Texas. I wouldn't consider the area urban, however, there are a lot of apartments and businesses near the university. I went there and I lived about 4 miles away and drove, although there was a bus service option. I would definately be able to rent it to non-college tenants and make a profit, however I think it may be lower if I rent it as a single family home.

Can anyone give me some good ideas where I could market to non-college tenants? I am still very new to the game.

@Cory Mickler

I like the Idea Cory. The thought had occurred to me, although I'm not sure that it would be cost effective. My father is in the handyman business and suggested that it is quite expensive to add another bathroom. Do you mind giving me an idea on this? He mentioned 10k, which I do not have to toss around. I am assuming that there might be about 5k of repairs on the property (high balling). I'd like to close before the end of August and have a tenant by September. My concern is that if I do not have tenants lined up by mid-September, I am going to be SoL until the following semester (December).

Just looked into it. It appears that this property is 0.1 miles from a bus station and the bus ride to the school is approx 30 minutes w/ stops.

I was looking for something within 5 miles. I'm assuming that they would have a car. The drive is only about 10 minutes. I was not expecting that to pose an issue. I would love more feedback on this as well.

Hello all,

I am looking to purchase a home in a college town and rent individual bedrooms to college students. I think that I can be profitable in doing this because I will be able to beat out all of the apartment rates in the area. The property that I am looking at on Friday is a 3 bedroom 1 bathroom. I have been looking into 3 - 4 bedroom 2 bathrooms but cannot seem to find one at a good price.

The market is booming right now in the area that I am looking to purchase, and people are offering more than asking prices on properties. My concern is that there is only 1 bathroom and I would have 3 tenants. I'm not sure that this would scare me away if I was a college male, but I'm not sure if I am being bias because I like the property. Can you all give me some input on this?

A little background on the property. Asking 80k, comps are selling for between 87k and 98k in the last 3 months. Large living room and large 'study'. Kitchen appliances may need to be updated. Large back yard w/ storage shed. Stone drive from main road (150yds) and stone driveway. 4.5 miles from the school market that I will be targeting. New roof 05/14. I think I can get 425 per tenant maybe 450 for the master b/r.

Okay, cool. Thanks @Brant Richardson .

Does anyone know any good websites where I can find out a more accurate room rental rate might be in my area? I am estimating from when I was a student at this college and could use some guidance. It would also be useful to be able to have a place to market these rooms other than on campus and through current student friends.

@Peter K.

Thanks Peter. I am trying to keep things in perspective and not get too attached as much as I can. I was leery of the townhouse because of the HOA dues also, but this one does not appear to have any. The realtor that I spoke to said that they may have at one point and no longer do, so they still call it a 'townhome'. I dont know how true that is, but I wont be getting into it without more info tomorrow. Thanks for the tips.

Can you (or any other members who would like to chime in) give me an idea of how to calculate what the property is worth? I am basically just looking at similar properties, which has been somewhat helpful. You mentioned setting 'Cap Rate'. Can you ellaborate?

@Brant Richardson

It doesn't need any rehab to be ready to rent (that I am aware of). The sellers are still living there. There was recently a hail storm and their roof is being replaced by their insurance company.

What kind of offer should I make, based on what I have said? 116,900 is a little high in my opinion and I think that the 35 days that it has been on the market reflects that. Even looking around at what has been sold recently, this property should be at 108k-110k. I want to make sure that in about 3 years when I'm looking to sell, that I will be able to have appreciation in the property.

@Matthew Edmond

Thanks!