All Forum Posts by: Jake F.

Nice Boone! Just out of curiosity, who gets the big manila envelopes? The paper scraps in front are what's getting stuffed inside?

 If any of the folks making suggestions here stand to benefit financially from you, just disregard what they have to say. Lots of people hyping their hometown without putting much thought into it. 

First ask yourself what you are looking for in a city in terms of weather, vibe, amenities, etc. Then look to see if $10k is enough for a down payment and closing costs (keeping 10k in reserves). My guess is you'll now have a list in the low single digits. Don't forget to make sure a purchase in that city would be a good investment. 

 No, we self manage. The fees here ranges from 20-30% which is insane. It takes a few minutes a week, and we do much better than a management company could do. It's super easy and there are a number of tools to make self managing a breeze.

@Soumya Brijesh I have an 8plex in McAllen. I pay for exterior pest control, but not inside. As per the lease that is their responsibility. Unless there is an issue within 30 days of the tenant moving in. 

I have my guy change the AC filters, but only so that I can get a peak inside the units to make sure they aren't doing anything unsafe or that will cost me money. Also, there's no way the tenants would change the filters every month. I'm not sure if that's common. 

I definitely don't provide lightbulbs. The units come with working bulbs when they move in, and they have to provide working bulbs when they move out. Anything in between is on them. This is in my lease. 

It doesn't really matter what the last landlord did unless it's in the leases you inherited. Check the leases, make sure that your tenants understand the rules, then enforce the rules that are in place. 

 We used Linda Lee Rodriguez when we bought our first house here. She lives on the Island and invests herself as well. We would use her again. I think about every third SPI resident is a real estate agent, so there are plenty to choose from. Of course, that doesn't mean they are all good! Most are used to trading 2bed/2ba 1000sf condos which are ubiquitous around here.

Try to look for a single family home. It's easier to stand out. With a condo you are locked in to whatever the going rate is in your building and it's hard to overcome that. 85% of the units on SPI are condos, so they tend to blend in as people are scrolling through the Airbnb results. 

Hey Karene, I have a STR in South Padre. It has performed really well. In my opinion it's difficult to really analyze a STR because so much of it depends on how it is managed. I've found the info from Airdna to be way off, and beware sellers' agents advertising "potential" earnings. Best bet is to find a similar property on Airbnb and check out availability and nightly rate to estimate revenue. Don't forget to factor in seasonality.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about the SPI market. 

@Shannon Green We have a single family STR on South Padre and is has performed really well. We are booked year round even in the "off season". I can't speak to Port Aransas though.

On SPI I would recommend getting a single family. They are much more expensive and harder to find, but that will make you stand out on the rental market. Only 15% of the Island consists of single family, and a portion of those are owner occupied. But when you are sifting through Airbnb every condo looks exactly the same, with the same finishes, layout, and amenities. You also don't have much control over your pricing when there are 200 identical units in the same property up for rent as well. 

I'm in the RGV and have an 8 unit in McAllen. What are you wanting to find out? Feel free to shoot a PM if you'd like. 

Sounds good. It's been a long time coming!

@Randy G.

We just used a flat fee MLS broker to sell our personal residence, but only because there had been several recent sales in our neighborhood of nearly identical houses so we knew exactly what the price should be. We had also done enough deals to know the process and the forms.

We also recently sold a fourplex which we listed with an agent. We weren't nearly as familiar with the nuances of fourplexes. It was well worth it to have an agent in that instance if only to coordinate showings and handle negotiations. @Boone Tyson was well worth the money and likely made us more money than his commission. If it makes you money, it doesn't cost you anything.

One word of warning with flat fee brokers: they will likely outsource everything to a VA who is working for next to nothing. Check their work very carefully! Especially your contact information. The broker will ignore any inquiries sent to their office about your home.