All Forum Posts by: Josue Vargas

Welcome to BP and San Anton!  You will love it here.  

@Rachel A.

If you have a lot of inquiries and you want to meet them in person, set up an open house (like a Sunday 1-4pm or something like that) in your add.  From there, you can have a questionnaire for pre-screening and the more serious ones will likely give you all the info you require for a screening.  Of course not everyone will attend, and not everyone will fill-out the form, but you will likely cut the 50% of people just asking for the add that are not serious.  Also, with a little luck, you have more than one prospect in your house at the time, and they will see that they are competing with other prospects, it creates competition between them and this is a good thing for you.  Good luck. 

Offer and Demand.. basic economics principles... You might be in a hot market without knowing it.  Due diligence, not because 12 future tenants call you means you should rise the rent... are they truly interested in renting your property? Are they good tenants? I'm a big fan of scrutinizing tenants from the listing, even before they even had a chance to emailing me or worst, calling me.  Are other similar properties renting above your listing?  Do you had a chance to scrutinize them?  I know, you don't have to answer these, just something to think about.   Look at your area an see what other similar properties are offering for rental.  Your best bet, if you have cash flow with the current listing, and you find a great tenant, keep the same rent price.  It will likely save you money on costs in the long run. 

I would consider lowering your offer or walk away... of course, this depends on the market you are. Most likely there are other properties that you may have forced appreciation and get some cash flow. Not sure what was the actual cost of your property, but +$35K in rehab, plus interest, plus any other issue that may arise in the rehab process on top of that, I would reconsider. 

No No No... No signed AND stamped plans, no design approved by any institution! Do not pay any $$ until it is signed by the PE!!!!

Report any fraud, even if that guy doesn't hold a PE, is still liable here in TX and in most states, at least a case of cease and desist apply to them... I've seen up to $8K fine if these people doesn't comply... TBPE.com.  Our profession is serious, and we must take it seriously as such...

Just talk to him, explain why are you seeking a reevaluation for the work he performed or even compensation for the money you gave to him...

Please note that Architects are not engineers.  And if that architect give you some structural advises, ask for the calculations, same for the structural engineer!!  You paid for that service, and you, as a costumer, should required such structural calculations!!  And they should provide to you as a professionals!

And, how that ever happened? I totally understand your frustration maybe by a rookie architect that may not be able to validated the engineering calcs, but in top of that a structural engineering?  

Regarding your comment of a detail differing from a plan.. From my experience as a civil engineer working for a big company, we usually don't trust details, but always check with the engineers/architects/surveyors, etc. , and usually plans and specifications govern over the details, maybe because for the only reason details are often copied and pasted from other projects.... but plan for such "X" project should be unique.  

Maybe just a call to the engineer could resolve the issue?  Remember, you are the boss, you are the one paying for these services.  Play and be the boss for at least a day! 

Best of luck to you! 

By the way, thank you for the word San Antonio!  Could not be reachable if not for this.  

Hello, I'm looking for investing in properties here in San Anton, currently owned three, one here in San Anton, two in Puerto Rico. Looking into NOT C- below properties. I don't have cash now, but paying off debt (student loans) and looking to invest soon. We are a Civil Engineer and a Pharmacist, married on 2012, currently paying student loans and other debts, but soon will have some cash to invest... How do you work your wholesales? Cash only or HML? What type of properties do you offer for wholesales and on what area? What are your numbers? Will love to have some properties and numbers aligned so I can evaluate: Cash-on-cash Investment Return, Return of Investment at 5 years, etc. I have a really good realtor that I have done deals with him before. I'm taking my Realtor examination course (seems like nothing.. I have passed the PE three times - Professional Engineering, I'm just a guy who understand engineering, plus cost estimating, plus construction, inspections, etc...). Just wanted to let you know I'm serious, maybe not right away, but soon.

Best Regards. 

Josue

@Michael P. @Andy Mirza 

Investments always cost something.  And you are right, it will not happen on the short term as most REI that look at a rental or flip property, this is development.  It takes time, but it pays off on the the long run. 

You need to hire the right people from the beginning, a Civil Egineer company that knows what they are doing. That company will take care of the communication with the city, permits, and whatever it takes, because they want your business afterwards to do the actually design for your project. They will talk to the city, they will talk to the inspectors, they will even offer you inspections on your behalf so the building is constructed as designed (highly recommended at least up to foundation, we all know how costly these could be).  

Also, for the analysis and foundation, they will likely recommend companies to do soil studies, engineering testing such as concrete, etc... Good to have if you are in an area succeptible to expansion soils (high clayed soils). 

You are looking into a land development (small, but still) project. As suppose to buy an existing apartment complex with 42 units, this are being build from scratch, and I'm sure it will need a PE (Professional Engineer) stamp and signature.  No contractor have that knowledge or that ability to sing off plans (have to be a PE).    

You need to call a Land Development company, that being said, a Civil Engineering company, such as these who plan and design subdivisions, commercial lots, etc.  They usually have a surveying team in their own company.  An experienced civil engineer member of the company should tell you what you can do and what he needs to do more research.  

I'm not familiar with your area, but you din't mention zone class (as of R1, R2, R3, Commercial, etc) depending on your state, county, or even zip code.  May be worth calling the city or county offices and figure some more information.  My best bet is that a local Civil Engineering company with experience in the area will be capable of telling you what you can do and what not.  If you are in doubt, seek second opinion, engineers are like doctors, we are professionals and give you the best we know! (we are also responsible for the public safety, no excuses, etc). 

Almost everything can be done; are you looking for single story, two story, etc?  how steep is the slope on the other side?  Retaining wall?  How about mutual parking, green areas, storm water management?  Need a pond or other systems to comply with Clean Water Act?  Minimum parking spaces? ADA regulations applicable? 

Just some things to think about, definitely hire a Land Development Engineering Company, and do not waste time with a contractor for more experience he has.. and my two cents are based of a one-two  paragraph of information... 

Personally, If I were in your situation, and if you are single or married without children, I'll do house hacking, triplex or fourplex. Also, if you don;t mind, a househack with a SFR renting out rooms will be a great advantage.

Of all of the cities you mentioned, I've been in Kansas City, Indianapolis, and San Antonio... I currently live in San Antonio and I love it, plus you have Austin that is 1 hour away (for the most part) from San Antonio and is great as well.  I really enjoyed my time in Kansas City, lots to do, clean, and looks like a good place to live, but I was there only for vacation, so I can't tell you if its a good area to invest or what.   Indianapolis was kind of the same thing, been there for work, spend a week or so so often, enjoyed the time being there, but that's it. 

It all comes down how you invest and what your goals are.  I've seen a lot of movement in San Antonio lately, trying to keep up and the city doing a great work attracting edging tech companies like Hulu to the city.  The newspapers and "analysts" expect a grow about 1.5 million people by 2030 in the "Corridor", meaning Austin-San Antonio.  

I would be careful with jumping to really good deals by the phone/internet or long distance if you are just starting up.  Nowadays, texting, emailing, facebook, etc are great tools to communicate, and that is great, just take it with like a grain of salt.  

Also, have you traveled and see what these cities have to offer?  Not only the tourist and very nice areas, but the one you may end up for househacking (maybe not so pretty areas after all that you can afford or make sense financially).  Also, you may don't like the Midwestern, and you may prefer rather be on a more "four season" region such as Indianapolis.  If its for purely investing purposes and you can hack a house for a year then move out, this is no problem for most people.