All Forum Posts by: Joel Allen

I'm a military member and would have no anticipation/expectation of a military discount when I book an STR.

If you decide to implement a military discount, it will add another layer to your management process.  You will need a way to verify military service and then adjust rates accordingly.  You’ll need to determine if the discount also applies to a military spouse/family traveling without the military member, and does it extend to other first responders?

You’ll want to think through those nuances before implementing a policy.

@Caleb Pratt

FHA loans are intended for the purchase of a primary residence. FHA guidelines require a borrower to establish bona fide occupancy in the home as the borrower's principal residence within 60 days of signing the security instrument, with continued occupancy for at least one year.

With that said, there is an opportunity to house-hack (example: purchase a multi-family home with the FHA, live in one unit, and rent out the others). Or, you could purchase the home, live in it for a year to fulfill the residency requirement, and then convert it to a rental.

A couple months ago, I attended a Small Business Administration presentation geared toward veterans.

There are some SBA programs geared toward helping vets launch various businesses, but when I asked about real estate investing I didn’t get the sense there are any programs specifically for vets that would help with real estate investments.

I see you're in Texas…one unique program we have is the Texas Veterans Land Board which allows vets to purchase land at very favorable terms (30-yr term with 5% down). But I only see that being applicable to your situation if you're looking to purchase land and then build an STR from the ground up.

You mentioned property tax exemptions for disabled vets…keep in mind those are only for primary residences. So unless you're using your primary residence as the STR (casita, studio apt, etc) the property tax exemptions won't apply.

3 Bullet Points for San Antonio (plus 2 bonus ones):

1. Large city with continued population and economic growth.  It’s the 7th largest city in the US by population (1.5 million people) and had the largest total increase in population of any city in the US between 2020-2021 (+13,626 people).

2. Reasonable Price of Entry into Market.  San Antonio has the lowest median home price of the 4 major metros in Texas.  
- Austin/Round Rock: $537,475

- Dallas/Ft Worth/Arlington: $430,000

- Houston/Sugar Land: $350,000
- San Antonio/New Braunfels: $340,000

3. San Antonio is ‘Military City, USA’ and is home to 4 military bases (Lackland, Randolph, Fort Sam Houston, Camp Bullis).  This provides a steady supply of quality, recession-resistant renters.

4.  Texas has no state income tax.

5.  Whataburger and Buc-ees

Sources:

- https://www.census.gov/newsroo...

- https://www.recenter.tamu.edu/

@Zack Martinez and @Chad Brown,

Welcome to BP and to investing in San Antonio.  Its’s a great city, and I always appreciate good conversations about real estate in San Antonio…BP is a great forum for that.  I look forward to crossing paths with you here in SATX.

@Jourdyn Bell

A couple things that jump out right away:

1.  There is $0 budgeted for vacancy.  That’s an unrealistic expectation, especially for a multi-family property.  Many investors set aside 8-10% of the rent amount each month for future vacancy.

2.  There is $0 budgeted for property management.  Are you planning to self-manage a multi-family as your first landlord experience?  If you plan to use a PM, plan to set aside 8-10% of the rent amount each month.

Those two items alone will eliminate your cashflow, not to mention your capex and maintenance seem low (think about not only repairs but also lawn maintenance/landscaping, snow removal, etc).  Will you be owner-occupying one of the units?  If so, and the income number you provided accounts for you living in one of the units, only then maybe it’s worth another look.  

Are the current rents well below market rates, and you are confident you can increase them over time?  If not, I’d move along and keep searching.

1. Is a home warranty worth it?

2. LLC or umbrella policy?

3. Self-manage or use a PM?

4. Saying anything negative about Columbus, Ohio ; )

@Amy Lin

Purely in terms of location, the Stone Oak area of San Antonio would appear to be one of the best areas within the city for a STR. Just a few miles to the west is Six Flags and La Cantera (popular tourist attractions). A few miles to the east is TPC San Antonio, which hosts the Valero Open (large PGA golf tournament each spring). UTSA is within a 15-minute drive (plenty of students' families visiting and sporting events). Camp Bullis and the Medical Center are also about 15 minutes away with the potential to bring in additional visitors.

With that said, I own LTRs so I'm not as well-versed on the city's STR restrictions. And Stone Oak neighborhoods tend to be higher-end, so you'll want to know in advance if the HOA restricts/limits STRs.

@Sandee Sampson

It sounds like the individuals/companies wants to rent your property as a short-term rental arbitrage. It’s a strategy that has become more prevalent the past few years. If you do an online search of ‘rental arbitrage’ you can find many articles discussing the pros and cons.

Essentially the company wants to pay you a long-term rental price (lower), then turn around and rent it out at short-term rates (higher), and keep the spread as their profit.

There are some inherent risks in this strategy, so do your due diligence on the company and ensure any agreement is detailed and in writing.  Ask them for a list of the property owners they currently rent from, and call those property owners to gauge their experience with this particular company.

@Dave Ackley

Liberty Military Housing appears to be the contracted on-base housing provider for Naval Base San Diego.  Assuming that’s the case, on-base housing typically is designed to charge rent to military members at a rate equal to their BAH (essentially the service member lives for ‘free’ but then doesn’t receive any BAH).

San Diego’s BAH rate is one of the highest in the nation with rates ranging from $2,016 for E-1 without dependents to $3,459 for E-9 with dependents.

My guess is that Liberty Military Housing is just bringing your rent in line with your BAH, which would be standard protocol.  My real question would be where did the original $1,100 rent number come from?  Am I missing part of the story?