All Forum Posts by: Jessica Harrison

I would love to be on your list when you find land. I'm an agent, but my husband is a builder. 

Welcome to DFW! Personally, I prefer to invest in the North Ft Worth area and mid-cities areas. You are still able to find good family homes for an affordable price that will cashflow and appreciate. Even if the market crashes, these homes will still rent because they are usually middle class family homes, but won't require super heavy management or maintenance.  

As someone who has purchased several properties from wholesalers, I greatly value you looking for reliable contractors to help you formulate the real cost for rehabs. My husband owns a construction company... it's important to remember that the good, reliable contractors are very busy, they don't want to come out and give you an estimate for free, knowing full well that you aren't going to give them the job, you simply need a number to give to your investors. So, if you are wanting someone reliable, i would suggest offering to pay for their time--- time to drive out there and to formulate an estimate. I hope this helps :)

Hi @Lily Madrigal, welcome to DFW! It's a great place to buy and when your team (agent and lender) know that renting it is your end goal, they can help you walk through the process with that in mind. Most agents have lenders and contractors that are reliable and visa versa. Find either a lender or an agent, and they can help you find the other piece and help you ask/answer all of the appropriate questions for your situation. Also, you will have several low down payment options since you are purchasing this as your primary home... what a great way to get started in investing! 

Yes, I would also recommend doing your best to generate your own leads through using your own connections, direct mail marketing, etc... Start talking to everyone you know telling them what you are looking to do, that you will purchase a home for cash without realtor fees if they know of anyone in a tight spot needing to sell fast. You may be surprised who will pop up needing to sell their home. If you do work with a wholesaler, I would highly recommend getting a good relationship with a GC ahead of time and have them walk the property with you. I have purchased several deals from wholesalers and while we have made out okay on all but 1, our rehab budget has NEVER been what they say it will be. It has always been $5-25K more than their estimate. 

And one small tip- people always remember to budget for floor and paint, but they seem to forget that when you replace the floors you often have to re-float the floors, get new baseboards, trim, paint the new trim, etc... it's all of those little, but necessary things that add up. :)

Hi Parth, I honestly don't know much about green card requirements. My suggestion is to discuss this with your attorney. They should be able to answer this pretty quickly for you. 

Hi! I’m an investor in rentals and flips in the DFW area. I hear it all the time on the podcast and in the forums- you make your money on the purchase! The market is HOT so if you can hustle to find those off market deals, you’re going to do great on the back end whether you refi or flip! 

@Michael Thorne Yes, that was just taking into consideration the closing costs on the sale, not the purchase. Typically, if you are buying an on-market property, the seller will pay for most of the closing costs. 

We only did the one flip in Arlington... and that was just because it was a bit of a drive for us (we live in the North Ft Worth/Keller area), but it was a great project and we learned a lot!! We close tomorrow on our 6th flip in DFW. The last few years have been a lot of fun!

I haven't been to any meet-ups in Arlington, but I have done a few with my brokerage in Southlake. Definitely check out the events here on BP... i'm sure there are some close to you! 

Hi Parth! 

Investing in this area DFW is so smart! Things are only going up :) I would also recommend setting up an LLC especially if you are going to do it with a partner. If you are just going to do it by yourself, you can probably get started now and get an LLC later on down the line. Irving is actually a great spot for rentals... you might just find some in your own backyard :)

Hi Michael! Arlington is a great city to learn to flip in... that is where I did my first as well! 

Yes, they are asking way too much and $25K is going to be pretty tight especially if there is even one major item that needs addressing (HVAC, electric, plumbing, roof, etc...). Here is some quick math I do for all of my flips- ARV: $200K - Closing costs (usually around 8%) $16,000 - Rehab $25K - Holding cost (any interest payments, bills, and taxes) - purchase price $165K = Profit

Unfortunately, you are at a loss of $6,000 without taking into account any holding costs. 

Without seeing the house, I would budget more like $30-35K for rehab... especially if you are using a GC. BUT since you are getting it off the MLS, you get to have an inspection and if you have a good realtor, they can help you negotiate the price down based on those findings so that you know what you're really getting into before you purchase it.

I hope this helps! Good luck :)