All Forum Posts by: Jeremy Vandermause

Would love to do a virtual meetup! @Jordan Moorhead, can you send a link or some info on your Zoom meetup?

My partner and I are looking at buying in Pflugerville and plan to house hack by sectioning off part of the house (2 beds/1 bath) and adding an exterior door for more privacy. Eventually we would build a tiny home in the backyard or convert the garage as well.

We’ve had a hard time looking at Airbnb comps in the area - can’t tell if there’s a lot of demand and places are booked or people just don’t Airbnb their homes in Pflugerville.

Does anyone have any experience AirBnB’ing in Pflugerville? What’s the market like? Open to general opinions or raw data if ya got it.

Thanks!

@Joel Florian thanks for this! That’s awesome haha. Seller-financing seems like it could work with FSBOs. I’ve started to browse those as well.

@Jason Wray she owns a primary residence. However, she bought it 1 year ago and took out a loan for 95% of the purchase price. Not sure if she could pull anything out of it yet? Maybe I’m wrong.

@Kris H. Thanks. I think the what I am getting at is I need 2 years of paystubs from any kind of commission job (I was previously in software sales, now real estate). So from what I understand, if I start a new sales job I wouldn’t be able to buy a house for 2 years even though I had previous employment with good income history and good credit. Or is it possible to use income history from past jobs spanning 1-2 years?

@Jason Wray, thank you for that info! These are option I had not heard before. Usually people suggest getting a co-borrower who's better qualified or using hard money. Putting 25% down probably isn't doable for us at the moment, but I'm interested to figure out how we might find a lender who does not have overlays or maybe overlays that aren't as strict as the industry standard. Are those hard to find? Do they generally come with higher interest rates or unfavorable terms to the borrower? 

Thanks again!

My partner used to work a corporate job making $120K/yr - she bought her first home in September 2019 and has since rented it out to cover the mortgage. She moved to a start-up and now makes 60K/yr so her approval amount will be very low. I was working a sales job with a base salary + commission from September 2019-March 2020, then got laid off due to Covid. I became a fully licensed agent by the end of June and have been working in RE since July 1. I'm closing two deals at the end of August, but the lender wants to see 2 years worth of commission so I effectively cannot get a loan (which is kind of ironic imo). The market we want to buy in is very hot - multiple offers on most homes - and we would need $250K-$350K to get what we want.

Has anyone had a similar problem getting financing (or enough financing)? What are some creative ways we can qualify for a loan over $250K?

Thanks!

Hey @Ajeet Baath!

First, welcome to Austin! The real estate market here is very hot to say the least. Multiple offers on almost every decent house you can find. Average home price is in the high 300s, low 400s. Covid has barely affected the market in terms of price. Inventory has been low because sellers are holding off until it gets a little easier for people to actually go to open houses and tour homes. If you're looking for a rental property in that price range, your best bets are the surrounding towns outside of Austin (not far, maybe 30 min). 

As far as neighborhoods and getting in touch with agents, lenders, property managers, etc - I will send you a message! Too much info to type out here. 

Jeremy Vandermause | Shaffer Properties

@Account Closed Bastrop is a cool little town! If you're looking to invest outside of Austin, I personally love the Round Rock - Leander - Pflugerville area. Population growth is high, median income is over 50K, and the schools are amazing, AND you can still buy great homes in the 100K-300K range. My company manages a lot of rentals in those areas and our clients have seen really good returns. We just had a woman buy sight unseen in Round Rock because the numbers just made sense. 

If you're looking for something more "out in the country" like Bastrop, I have heard great things about Hutto, Taylor, Elgin, and of course Lockhart. I feel like Bastrop has a little ways to go before you can see a really good return on your investment, but that's just my two cents! 

Good luck!

Jeremy Vandermause | Shaffer Properties

@Matt Riley There's a lot of good advice in this thread. I've lived in Austin my whole life and it's been awesome to see the change and growth of all the zip codes and surrounding towns. My girlfriend and I are currently looking to do another hack in the same price range (250K-350K). If I'm being honest, we are pretty much priced out of East Austin proper in that price range (78702, 78721, 78723) unless we are willing to do some renovations. My girlfriend hacked her house in Southeast Austin (78741) and has had success with that. 

Much like other Realtors here, I like 78753, 78754, 78758, 78759 - close to the Domain, Apple campus, Samsung campus, the new Austin FC stadium - these zips are and will be growing for many years to come. South Austin is great too (78741, 78745, 78748, 78749). 78744 has great prices and is super close to the airport, Mckinney Falls, and has easy access to most anything if you're willing to drive. However, it is a bit of a food & entertainment desert out there - nothing really exciting in that zip code unless you drive across 35 or into downtown/East Austin. Fortunately, they are breaking ground on a new development just east of the airport in 2021!

As far as towns around Austin the obvious choices are up north -  Round Rock, Leander, etc. I love Pflugerville for it's population growth (~100%) and median income (~70K), and the houses are super affordable and EASY to hack. 

If you're interested in taking your hack a step further, I have helped several friends build a tiny home in their backyard for less than 40K. They rent it out as an Airbnb and earn between 1500-2500 per month. They are able to live for free and earn some serious cashflow with that short-term rental. 

Best of luck!

Jeremy Vandermause | Shaffer Properties