All Forum Posts by: Jim Robertson

San Antonio

@Patrick DiDomenico I think I have driven by that complex on the way to Laredo. That area was lacking housing due to the oil and gas boom a few years ago. I'm guessing this a quick construction as an alternative to manufactured housing/mobile homes. 

This is the only container home I am aware of in central Austin. I would start here with permitting questions, builder, designer, and agent are in the last paragraph of the article https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/austins-first-container-homes-completed/309534690 

Check out Montopolis neighborhood, or Govalle/Springdale if you're flipping. Depends on your strategy though. There are still some decent buy and hold pockets near Lamar and Rundberg or off of the North 183 corridor. 

It's hard to find normal or average numbers. I look for 15% cash on cash in the central parts of San Antonio. Others may have a different qualifier for their deals. 

Here are a couple of things to consider if you want to try to keep the property. You can find property management for 8% with some companies in San Antonio. Post a few test ads on craigslist or zillow and see if raising the rent is possible. Have you looked into other strategies to self-manage from a distance? Such as tenants mailing you rent, maintenance, or home warranty contracts to avoid doing work yourself?

What is the appreciation possibility of the property? If your personal financial situation allows you to have a break-even property, the loan paydown, tax benefits, and appreciation could be a nice payday in 10 years?

@Tim G. I found great returns closer to home. Decided to buy in San Antonio, Texas. Still planning to purchase in Valencia some day though. Probably Ciutat Vella or Russafa. 

Hello Jeff, 

In the Austin area 400k would be tough to find a fourplex that doesnt need substantial work. There are quite a few duplexes that come and go between 300k and 400k. Usually when I run the numbers, I can't quite find a live for free situation, but you can greatly subsidize your cost. Try to look for the 1% rule (the gross monthly rent will be 1% of the purchase price). You can also learn how to calculate cap rates and cash on cash return to further evaluate a deal. 

You may want to look into the demographics of who the 1/3 or 42% of renter are. There are always pockets where rental demand remains high. San Antonio has three universities (Trinity, Incarnate Word, SAC) within walking distance of each other and the downtown area. I would guess in this pocket its much more than 42% renters. As you move further out from the urban center the home ownership percentages rise substantially. I would lock at pockets of properties near the schools, the medical center, airport, etc.

I have a fourplex in alta vista and ran my numbers expecting a 10% vacancy each year when the college term ends and all the students move around. The most important thing is to know your area. 

I have done this two ways. The first was where my partner was essentially a note investor similar to how @Will Pritchett described above. I would highly recommend this method if you have a partner that wants to be as passive as possible. 

I also have a partnership with 2 more active partners. We created a general partnership agreement with the help of a lawyer and divided responsibilities between us. Its an equal capital and equal work share partnership. This property is with a management company so that saves us the trouble of one partner doing most of the day to day work. 

@Gita Faust One subscription for each EIN adds up really fast if you put each property in an LLC. Do you still need a different subscription for disregarded entities?

I have a 3/2 front house and 1/1 back house in North Central San Antonio that I am trying to get leased. The back house is getting lots of showings and a few applications. The front house however is not getting much response. I think I have the rents correct for the neighborhood $1200 and $600. The feedback I am getting from the few showings of the front house is that they are unsure of leasing a house without knowing the back house tenant. Does anyone have any solutions or suggestions (other than lower the price of the front house)? Should I list it as a duplex in my ads?