All Forum Posts by: Jordan Decuir

@Sam G.

I was going to jump in with the capital gains tax exemption consideration. I’m not a tax expert in any way...but Yes, per the current IRS rules, you would be exempt (up to $500k for a married couple) from the capital gains tax that would be generated by the sale of a home that was your primary residence for at least 2 of the previous 5 years. So, I’d factor that tax savings into your calculations if it is likely that you would be looking to sell the home in 5-10 years (especially if you’re on the lower bound of that range) because after that 5-year mark, you would no longer receive those capital-gains exemptions. There are also other ways that you could avoid those taxes as well, a 1031 Exchange as an example.

@Kelsey Mortimore Congrats on the wonderful househacking idea. It can be an AWESOME approach to RE investing and a great wealth builder. I’d keep it simple and say that nobody really knows if and when the next crash will happen, especially looking at the local level. It IS the case however, that there are always deals and good investments to be had without regard to “the market”. I’d recommend looking, analyzing, and being ready and willing to pull the trigger now and in the future. If you wait around for the crash to come for years and years, you may end up missing out on SEVERAL years of investment returns waiting on “the crash” that MIGHT save you a relatively-small amount on the purchase price.

@Cerise Goldberg I’d first check with more than one lender, as the 25% requirement may be specific to that one lender. As someone here also said, I’ve also gotten traditional investment property loans with 20% down as well.

@Robert Haney Are all of your properties (flips & holds) in Sugar Land?

@Christopher Davis

I completely understand the frustration. I think that it is VERY beneficial for you to be looking at deals and analyzing in real time though as it should keep you plugged into the market and you will be able to better spot deals and act swiftly as they come along.

Also, are you also asking yourself the question, “At what purchase price would this be a deal?” ? That could be helpful as well. To take that a step further maybe find some properties that have been on the market for a much-longer period of time than their local market’s average days on market (DOM) and consider submitting offers based on the prices at which they would be deals for you based on your analysis, regardless of their current asking price. You may be able to catch a seller at an opportune time and get yourself a sweet deal that way. Best of luck!

I am looking to purchase a 1-4 unit property in early 2020 and am interested in going FHA and also possibly in their 203k loan program. Any Houston-area lenders that are subject matter experts in FHA and 203k? I want to hear about the ins and outs are with each and also want to see what my available options will be

@Greg H. Of course the seller(s) waiting to see the other offer coming in probably would be in their best interest. But that's not up to the agent to decide for the sellers unless they have been instructed to do so. I wasn't speaking from a bargaining-position standpoint. I was coming from the perspective that her/his state's RE Commission, state's association of Realtors, the National Association of Realtors, or even his local MLS board may require (in some form) that the agent not withhold offers because he/she is "waiting for another offer". I am sure that either TREC, TAR, NAR, or perhaps even HARMLS would disagree with you. And they are the ones that set the rules locally.

@Ruben Vega Also forgot to mention, if she (or her brokerage) represented the sellers of the home that she was holding the open house for , and if she did explicitly mention to you that the house was overpriced, then she at the very least is doing a great disservice to her seller-clients by not promoting their best interests and negotiating position. Again, I’m speaking from the perspective of a different state’s standards, but if all of this is plainly accurate then she seems to me to either be an incompetent, poor, or somewhat “shady” at least, agent and I would try to not do business with her representing me as her client at any point, now or in the future.

@Ruben Vega Sounds to me like she may have violated here duty to submit offers to her seller-clients upon receipt, if that is in fact the what the RE commission in your state requires agents to do. That is what the Texas RE Commission requires of agents...That is also unless her seller-client specified to her to hold offers for some reason(s). On the Buyer Rep agreement, that sounds like bad business practice for her to slip that in the package of to-be-signed documents without mentioning the fact that it would extend to any property you buy through December. Are you sure that it applies to any property that you buy through December? Or perhaps just one specific property or neighborhood instead? If you speak to her (or her sponsoring broker if she has one) about it, she may let you out of the Buyer Rep or amend it in an effort to not muddy her business reputation.

@Tom Smith I am not a lender but it may be easier and you may get a different (possibly better?) rate and terms if you do the cash-out refi on the current home because it is “owner-occupied” instead of it being a rental.