All Forum Posts by: Jessica Muto

I recently called 6 different banks about HELOC options in San Diego, and narrowed it down to Suntrust and US Bank because both of them will offer a higher CLTV and offer fixed rate options as well as variable rate for the line of credit. SDCCU (where my business banks, though I do not recommend using it for your business banking) seems to have lower intro rates but only variable for the LOC and then fixed for a loan. Bank of America seemed to have low rates but they were super complicated and to get the best rates you have to take a larger initial draw which means high monthly payments for at least 3 cycles. We are probably going to opt for one of the more straightforward LOC options offered by US Bank or Suntrust. Interested in others' experiences, though!

@Amanda G. and @Dennis M. - Thank you both for the insight! I apologize for taking to long to get back to this post. You have both kind of validated my feelings on this deal. I've learned a lot in my research of Texas about how hard it really is to find that great deal and how you have to keep emotions out of it! I know for sure that I'm just getting more excited about staying with it. 

Thank you! 

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*This link comes directly from our calculators, based on information input by the member who posted.

This duplex is in an "older" part of Arlington, and a property manager from BP thought the rental numbers were reasonable. My real estate agent in the area went by and took some video and described it as "creepy and old," the tenants had smoked so the smell was awful, and the neighborhood was "hood" - she didn't really feel safe there just taking a look. 

So on one hand, it's in my price range (finally) and one expert thinks it's a pretty decent deal. On the other hand, another expert thinks it would be cost prohibitive to find and keep good tenants, even if I fixed it up completely to current standards for the area based on the location. 

What do you smart people think? I'm getting a bit discouraged about Arlington, even though there are a lot of great aspects to the area. Prices for small multifamily seem a bit too high for good cash flow. Am I way off base here? 

Thanks!

@Jeff Richardson Thank you! I JUST finished reading @David Greene 's book about Long Distance Real Estate, so I'm on board with your suggestion. As the owner of a plumbing company here in San Diego, I'm definitely more sensitive to asking for free advice from busy professionals while I'm still deciding if this market even makes sense. I've got a good real estate agent in the area, and am still looking for a property manager and haven't yet started looking for a contractor. Any referrals are definitely appreciated! 

Thanks everyone! This is a fun process, but I'm still learning what questions to even ask! It's been great reading everyone's advice. 

@Jeff Richardson Thanks so much for your feedback! My main concern with managing myself is that I live in California and obviously would not be able to respond to emergencies, etc, very quickly myself. Also, I'm at a disadvantage not knowing the area, the costs associated with utilities and maintenance, upgrades, etc, and the good and bad areas of town. How do you handle stuff like a burst water main in the middle of the night or other situations at your properties? 

@Julie Nguyen Thanks for the tip! I'll definitely look into that area. 

@Rita Lo Thank you for asking this question, as I was just about to ask it myself. I've been trying to look for a deal in Arlington for a little while now and keep coming up with low or negative cash flow, possibly due to overestimating expenses, but everything I'm reading seems to indicate that Arlington may not be the best place to look. DFW in general is very interesting to me, however. I'm definitely going to investigate some of these other suggestions. 

My question is: do any of you Arlington/DFW locals have a property management company or person who is just terrific? I'm in California, so I definitely need someone in the area. 

Thanks!

Thank you so much @Cody L., @Danny Webber , and @Karl Farmer ! It looks like I need to make some more calls to find out how much expenses in the area are. Really helpful tips. We are trying to learn as much as we can as quickly as we can to becoming experts in the markets  we find interesting. Hence all my newbie questions! @Danny Webber This might be a couple of dumb questions, but what is muds/puds and how do you find out lease rates and historical neighborhood turnover ratios and data like that? Bug some property managers or real estate agents?

As the owner of a plumbing company, I definitely understand the need to answer questions for free in hopes of getting work from some of the potential customers, but I also hate bugging people when I know I might not ever hire them. So I have been trying to find a lot of information online myself but am finding it slow going. What's the etiquette about that? 

Thanks again! I really appreciate the time. 

@Drew McLaren

Hey, fancy running into you here! I definitely will reach out. Where are you investing/looking at deals these days? 

Hope all is well!

Jessica

@Dennis M. Thanks for your response. We live in CA which is why we would need property management for this deal in TX. The prices seem so great compared to the market in CA, but the cash flow isn't working out with my estimates for taxes, expenses, and rents. Rents aren't that low, so that makes me think I am overestimating something on the expense side and was wondering if anyone with more experience in Arlington would be able to see something I don't. Of course, the deals may just not be that great! 

Thanks!

Jessica