All Forum Posts by: John Collins

Strategy is buy and hold, rehab if necessary. Low vacancy neighborhoods with rental price point $2.5k or under... have issues with vacancy at higher price points in tx. Could also be a case where roommates pay separately instead of 1 family per SFH. I will be in Austin in Feb but doing due diligence atm.

Ideally as close to 1% for rent to ARV but can prove too elusive so prioritize a steady stream of interest in home, neighborhood, area etc.

Developers are aggressively trying to push plans near Domain 10 so I'm not too excited about tech guys looking at the Pflugerville area as homes are older. The whole tech culture is shiny new and they would prefer a sterile high end apartment. 

 Like Windsor Hills, North Lamar, Oak Ridge? What is the median they are willing to pay for rent? When I see young tech professionals, they pretty much always stay at new development apartments... not remodeled older homes. 

Price, yes. Have not bottomed out yet. Can go 200 more with positive cash flow. Other 2 homes in neighborhood for rent are 500 and 600 a month more expensive and definitely not that much nicer. Spoke with the agents who viewed it and they said it's a real nice property and value. 

The 5 I spoke about in previous post. There was another one who was a no show.  

Timing is a huge issue for this one as I couldn't have it ready before mid Aug. School year had already started and it's very much a "family" neighborhood, a "family" house with strong surrounding schools. I was also picky, the first person who saw it wanted it but said it would be for a year (again ending in sep after the summer was over), second person has a pitbull (just not doable for nicer neighborhoods), 3rd wanted it for a short while then decided he found a place he was going to buy and 4th and 5th no offer. That's been all the activity in 5 months and with no offers in December, I'm thinking it will now be April before people even come to see it.

The agent could always hypothetically be more aggressive about networking and getting the word out, but I'm not sure how I can measure that. 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but because you get lower rates on your loan if it's a primary residence you will be staying in, no bank would be willing to make the transfer unless you refinance as a non primary residence. 

Curious, and at what price point? My highest rent property has been on the market for a while and even though I've dropped the price below market, people just haven't been coming to see it this time of year. The agents who've seen it say it's great value and has been done really nice (it's not the state or design of the place that's preventing people from moving in). 

What steps have you taken to get people in to view it, and to rent it? How much below market are you willing to go, is it worth it if it's a bare minimum positive cash flow? 

What is your equity to rental ratio for EaDo? I am receiving about $2k on a $240k ARV which I think is OK to hold on to for now. Hasn't appreciated with all the newer construction coming up.

I have seen properties in the 300-350k range that cash flow if you put 20% down with an interest rate under 3.5%. You also get a better quality tenant. But yeah, the aim is always to nab those when they need rehab or are at a very low price, not at market. 

I have been looking at Independence Heights and Spring Valley, which are probably more popular for new home buyers, but if some steam picks up it would be nice to have mid range rentals there. Haven't found anything yet. At this point I am far more interested in going mid tier multifamily in these areas, even if it means development. 

OK, so depending on whether you are doing some of the reno as opposed to contractor doing all , a couple places where you can save thousands:

1. Redoing the kitchen cabinets instead of new ones. Sand, prime, sand, paint, sand, paint with a spray gun and premium paint. Soft close drawer hinges aren't expensive either. 

2. Google "refinish tub and tile" and see if you have any good reviews in your area. It's an amazing job but you have to tell your tenants not to use bleach when cleaning afterwards. However if there's any kind of mold then I would redo it from scratch. 

3. Don't think it's worth $5,000 refinishing these hardwoods as opposed to getting new LVP (waterproof everywhere) or engineered wood (not waterproof, need tile in water areas). They don't look that great, and there are plenty of places that sell flooring and installation for a better price than buying separate. I have put in premium engineered in upscale places with install for $4.5-5 sq/ft with a discount as inventory was close to finished. LVP is cheaper and better for rentals where tenant isn't that diligent. 

For the counters, I would do a grade 1 to 3 (it goes up to grade 8) granite, cost effective and last forever.