All Forum Posts by: Jacob Pereira

Eh, they're really not that different if you're just looking to do a vanilla long-term rental. STRs, halfway houses, commercial leases, etc. have slightly more of a difference, but I don't think that's what you're asking about. As far as discriminating against a tenant for smoking? I'm pretty sure no jurisdiction in the country has a rule against that one. Most of Austin's discrimination rules follow the Fair Housing Act (as does everywhere else in the country, including Pflugerville), but they have a few extras that not every other place has. 

@Bruce Lynn, the Austin Tenant's Council will also help Pflugerville residents. I'm not sure if it's still there, but Pflugerville used to actually have a link to ATC on their governmental website.

As has been mentioned above, you can ATTEMPT to evict a tenant for breaking any part of your lease, but some things are very difficult to prove, and with all the COVID court issues I can't imagine winning a smoker eviction.

Here are the Austin discrimination rules if you want to check them out: https://www.austintexas.gov/de...

As @Joe S. implied, there's not much in Austin at that price. You could possibly find something that requires a lot of fixing up, but after those repair costs you'd be above that amount anyway. If you're willing to go a bit farther out of the city, there are some options, but then you'll run into public transport issues. Out of the the three cities you've named, I imagine only San Antonio MIGHT be able to check all your boxes, and even then you can probably give up on a fourplex unless you're willing to look into the smaller surrounding cities.

Keep in mind that 2/4 unit properties tend to be built in clusters, and that usually keeps the entire neighborhood down, especially at the low price point where you're looking.

Have you considered looking into places like Elgin, Killeen, or Temple? I don't usually recommend those spots to absentee landlords, but it sounds like you'll be living there, so you could keep an eye on the property. I'm sure SA and DFW have similar suburbs that could fit your price range better.

10 is a lot. I suppose I've had interactions with more than 10, but not enough to rate each one apples to apples. What kind of property are you looking for and how much control do you want to maintain? The reason I ask is because there's a huge difference between those companies that will manage a C-class fourplex with a hands-on owner and those that mostly work with A-B class SFR's from people who just want a check without a hassle.

Hi Natasha,

I'm kind of in the opposite situation; I'm in the US and doing the initial research to buy in the Netherlands (dual US/Dutch citizen, spend about a month there every year). I have had clients from Mexico and Israel get loans for property here in Austin from one of my lenders, but I'm not sure how the rules would apply in your situation. He only lends locally, but he might be able to at least give you advice on where to go. PM me if you'd like his contact information.

-Jacob

Hey Anders,
First of all, I'd like to commend your agent in looking out for your best interest instead of his/hers. If it was selfish advice, they would tell you to sell as soon as possible and earn an extra 5-figure commission check with very little extra work.

That said, just because it's clearly honest advice, that doesn't necessarily make it the best advice. If you don't want to live there and it makes more sense to sell than to rent it out, by all means, sell it. I'd also recommend you benchmark to the S&P 500 to see how you do relative to another investment. Include all the upfront money you put into it and look at if you bought an S&P index that same day for the same amount. Then any payments along the way should be added for the day they're paid out(if you want to really go hard, look at including your time investment as well; I do on my personal benchmarks). I think you'll find that your returns will actually be pretty low compared to your benchmark, but it would be interesting to see actual numbers on it. If you do decide to go that route, please post here. I'm sure there are people other than me who would love to see the results.

If you do decide to do that, please post your  

You know, I used to always bring up the property tax thing to my California clients, but a lot of them have told me that their rates actually still ended up being higher than here. I'm sure it's variable by exact location there just like it is here, but for a frame of reference, most people pay between 2.1-2.8% of their appraised value, which tends to be quite a bit lower than their actual value. Is that comparable to what you're seeing in Sacramento?

@Jordan Moorhead, from my understanding, the one year number is a rule of thumb, and am early move-out can be justified by a life change such as a new job, marriage, family change, etc. Is that no longer the case, or do I misunderstand the rule?

@Kamrava Pirouz, North Central or Southeast, depending on your preferred area, but honestly it's all appreciating at a rapid pace.

I have to say that I disagree with @Joe Scaparra, although he is a smart guy and gives good advice. Buying before you leave allows you to utilize a conventional loan for your property and get your team and systems in place before you go and have to do it remotely. It will be much harder for you to break into the Austin market once you've moved, so if you want to own property here, now is the time to do it.

@Evan Bonnell, personally, I love the idea, and I've been toying with doing it myself. I think I saw further down in the comments that yours is also a Roth, meaning that you wouldn't have to pay the taxes because you already did before you put your money in, no? The downside is that your have to pay taxes on future returns once you take it out, though.

You mention that you already have large cash reserves; why not just use that money? Even if it's in a high-yield account, you're not getting a lot (and probably listing some due to inflation).

One thing most people would agree on here, I think; wait until you've located a deal before taking your money out. Getting out of equities just to hold more cash seems like a pretty poor investment move (unless you believe the guys who are predicting a market crash).

@Tanner McKinley, I used my VA on a duplex, and it helped me get a jump start in the industry.

A few things:

Was your last loan VA? If so, you'll have to clear that loan before you can use it again.

Are you saying you want to buy a quad in the US while living overseas? VA requires you to move into the building initially.

Or are you planning on buying a quad where you are now overseas? That's a much more complicated question, but it would help if you say which country you're in.

Honestly, the VA is really not that much better than an FHA, but if you're buying investment properties you don't intend to live in you'll have to use an investor loan at a higher rate and larger down payment.