All Forum Posts by: Jorge Gonzalez

I also echo @Andrew Postell , he's very knowledgeable and is currently helping me out on the financing side of things on another property. 

According to Real Capital Analytics, a company that tracks trends & data the commercial real estate investment markets, has released and published data on cities have had the most investment activity in Q1-Q2 2020.

See article https://www.rcanalytics.com/ch...

And to no surprise, Dallas, DFW area, has soared to #1 spot in volume in capital investment, total $9.3B. It is the first year it surpassed tier 1 markets such as New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, which makes sense as these cities have been impacted significantly by the pandemic. However, it saw a ton more investment capital compared to other secondary real estate markets such as Atlanta ($5.6B), Houston ($5.0B), Denver ($4.4B), Phoenix ($4.4B), Austin ($2.1B). The Dallas market is on fire. This shows that there is a ton of interest in secondary markets moving forward as cap rates, occupancy rates, and rents have been falling in tier 1 markets. Another observation is that all of the secondary markets saw jumped in rankings, with the exception of Austin. Other notable players that saw jumps are Charlotte and Raleigh. Definitely interesting trend to see how people are adjusting their investment strategy within real estate in post pandemic times. What are your thoughts?

@Kayvon E. Hi Kayvon, I’m a also local investor in the DFW area, also originally from Los Angeles. I’d definitely check out mid cities HEB and the north Fort Worth areas, I know of few people that have done successful BRRRRs there.

PS, I also vouch for @Andrew Postell for the lending side of things, he helped me out on one of my properties.

Jorge

You'll have best luck in Arlington, Grand Prairie, Irving, and overall central area in the DFW metro. Great rental properties that go on the market go fast and you'll probably get anywhere .8-1% rule at best. You'll still be able to cash flow without refinance if you self-manage or put higher down payment. I personally put down 20% on an investment property in Irving at about a .9% rent to purchase price ratio. I self manage the property and get about $500/month in cash flow. 

@Jeremy Bonesteel

Hi Jeremy,

I was also on the fence between the Austin and Dallas DFW market before moving from Los Angeles. Just to give you an idea on both of these markets, Austin is the more expensive market from the two and very difficult to cash flow doing traditional rentals, usually people opt for rent by the room to come out net or potentially cash flow. However, this market has seen a ton of appreciation in value, higher than Dallas, driven by high paying jobs from tech and population moving in from expensive markets. Not a bad choice, but a ton more difficult to cash flow. I myself decided to move to the Dallas market just because I saw opportunity to cash flow in some areas doing traditional rentals and even a ton more by rent by the room. I myself have two single family homes this way, and am under contract for my third. The Dallas market is a lot more diversified, we have Finance, Tech, Defense Military, Healthcare, Transportation, etc. A ton more corporate relocations happening here in the Dallas market so it’s seeing a ton of appreciation as well. I feel more comfortable with the Dallas market as cash flow is better and solid appreciation with stable diversified market. Hope this helps.

@Dustin Lang

Hey again Dustin! This is a great question and discussion going on here. I’d also agree with the previous responses on these homes in the Dallas DFW areas. I’ve also had issues regarding aluminum wiring, electric panel not being up to code, rotted wood from a ton of moisture, and foundation issues. Just to give you an insight, for the aluminum wiring and electric panel, I was able to get seller concession for this item, approx $7k, which work ended up being $5k to get electrical up to code. For foundation, if the inspection goes well, I wouldn’t necessarily worry about it, but I’ve hired a structural engineer once just for peace of mind on a home that was built on a slope. A $500 expense that will end up saving $$$ thousands in the long haul. Something minor, but recurring was broken windows, which I ended up just asking for seller concessions.

Hi Ariana, 

This is completely doable for sure, a bit difficult, but possible if you find the right property. I myself purchased a property in the North Dallas dfw area for less than $250k, in between Addison and Richardson and was able to live for free and even cash flow about $200 per month. This was about at the .9 percent rent to purchase price, but once I move out in the coming month or two, I'll be able to rent out my space and cash flow about $800 per month on this property,  right above the 1 percent rule, at 1.1 percent. Best of luck on your search, there are properties out there, you just have to keep an eye out for when they do. 

I wouldn't say it's impossible to make it work in the Dallas market out of state, but prices have been creeping fast which make it harder to do a traditional rental where the numbers work. Having boots on the ground definitely make it easier, I myself moved to Dallas just to do rent by the room here to get more rental income compared to traditional rental and to qualify for conventional loans. I am doing this strategy in areas where there's good demographics, rental comps, and proximity to colleges/companies. As for BRRRR, just as @Dustin Lang mentioned, BRRRR will be possible in the DFW metro where prices are significantly lower, probably more difficult in the higher end sub-markets of the Dallas metro, but it is possible. Look into Irving, Arlington, Fort Worth, and central Dallas metro where this is very possible. Multifamily is definitely scarce, too many investors going after the few good deals. These go by fast. 

Good luck and let me know if you have any questions. 

Hi Scott, 

Welcome to Plano and greater DFW metro. You definitely chose a great city to begin your real estate investing, Dallas has been so great to me and I've only been here half a year. I myself am from Los Angeles and definitely wanted to live in a city that supports my financial goals. I personally house hack single-family homes in the northern cities of Dallas and am seeing some success doing that here. I live very close to Plano if you'd like to connect, I am still very much learning as I go.  

@Jeannette Tang

I’d really suggest if you’re just starting out, purchase a rent ready home, as in something that looks really nice, maybe recently remodeled, but not necessarily a brand new home. For example, my homes were built in the 1960s and 1970s and were recently remodeled and that is structurally good such as foundation, roof, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, etc. The last thing you want is purchasing a nightmare of a fixer upper and you never invest in another home because of a bad first experience. I try to purchase something I described at about market price or below market value, look at comparables carefully. These remodeled homes usually are sold at a premium so do your research and due dilligence about areas, I know the Plano, Carrollton, and North Dallas areas well enough so you can always reach out about sub markets within these cities and surrounding areas.