All Forum Posts by: Taylor Jackson

Hi All,

I've been acquiring some SFR rentals in Austin, and I'm l'm looking for a bank that will lend on appraised value without a seasoning period. My strategy is to buy, rehab, rent, and refi, but my experience has been that banks are lending on the lesser of 75ish% LTV or 80-85% LTC (acquisition + rehab). If I can buy and rehab for 75% of value, then I want to pull as much cash out as possible assuming DSCR works. Any recommendations? Thanks in advance.

In addition to factoring expenses into the equation the taxes represent a value of $195k at Travis County tax rates of 2.3%. Even if TCAD doesn't have access to the actual sales price, new taxes will probably reflect a value closer to $500k. I'd expect $10-$12k. 

Hi KJ,

Welcome to the site. It sounds like you've already determined that it's a no-go, but I'd just run the numbers and stick with what you find. A couple of recommendations: (1) spend a few bucks on J Scott's "How to Estimate Rehab Costs;" (2) get another investor you know/trust to give a second opinion. Anyone worth doing business with in the future would be happy to help; (3) have a realtor run comps to make sure your ARV is on point; (4) insert a 10-20% contingency for unforeseen expenses--just a good idea as a new investor until you dial in cost of subs and materials; (5) put line items into a model including closing costs, rehab costs, carrying costs, realtor fees, actual cost of hard money, etc. Good luck!

Hi all, I realize that some similar forums have already been posted, but this one has as much to do with approach as anything so I thought I'd still put it out there for the group. Any advice appreciated.

My wife and I have flipped 2 primary residences over the past 2 years, and have done pretty well on them. I've recently moved into full-time RE investment, but the money generated from flipping our primary residence obviously isn't considered income for tax or lending purposes. (To think that lenders won't just take me at my word!). But, to the point...

I just purchased a rental with cash, and I want to put a mortgage on it in order to reinvest in other flips.  My options as I see them are:

(1) Conventional - a conventional cash out refi is going to be pretty difficult because my DTI doesn't reflect functional income.

(2) portfolio lender - fixed or ARM

(3) HELOC

Does anyone have Austin-area recommendations for portfolio lenders and/or folks who would do a HELOC on an investment property?

Perhaps more importantly, am I missing anything here? Are there other, better options for pulling cash out? Thanks!

Hi all, I realize that some similar forums have already been posted, but this one has as much to do with approach as anything so I thought I'd still put it out there for the group. Any advice appreciated.

My wife and I have flipped 2 primary residences over the past 2 years, and have done pretty well on them. I've recently moved into full-time RE investment, but the money generated from flipping our primary residence obviously isn't considered income for tax or lending purposes. (To think that lenders won't just take me at my word!). But, to the point...

I just purchased a rental with cash, and I want to put a mortgage on it in order to reinvest in other flips.  My options as I see them are:

(1) Conventional - a conventional cash out refi is going to be pretty difficult because my DTI doesn't reflect functional income.

(2) portfolio lender - fixed or ARM

(3) HELOC

Does anyone have Austin-area recommendations for portfolio lenders and/or folks who would do a HELOC on an investment property?

Perhaps more importantly, am I missing anything here? Are there other, better options for pulling cash out? Thanks!

Regarding Austin's future, the city demographer, Ryan Robinson comments here about some of the city's challenges, especially in the area of traffic. He elsewhere suggested that these same traffic challenges would begin to have a noticeable effect on Austin-area population growth within 3-5 years. I had coffee with a developer this morning who is LEED certified, green, etc. and who quipped that "Austin is the most conservative liberal town in the country." Despite his company's alignment with the ethos of Austin's leadership, people just don't want change, and many of Austin's government departments and residents are no different. Getting needed projects passed through the system can just be a beast. Because commuting is such a challenge urban infill is desperately needed, and yet, getting sign-off for those projects is nigh impossible. Meanwhile, urban home prices continue to rise. Hopefully, we'll see continued thoughtfulness by the city regarding appropriate--and necessary--ways of increasing urban density.

I also agree with @Lynn Currie about some of the speculation we're seeing from investors; namely, folks betting on appreciation rather than the fundamentals of income producing properties and/or historical sales prices. The double digit year over year percentage increases in home values certainly isn't sustainable, but as long as job growth remains strong, Austin's housing market likely won't tank. Folks betting on appreciation might get hurt, but others will be fine. Nevertheless, at some point, if traffic does get bad enough, companies will lose their motivation to relocate here and job growth will be curtailed. The most likely scenario as an interim solution to traffic problems is that we'll see various regional centers begin to develop around the perimeter of the city, like the Galleria or City Centre in Houston.

Thanks Nishi!

Hi all. Does anyone have recommendations fro Austin, TX area REIA's? I'm relatively new to town and am looking to get plugged in with some other investors. Thanks.

Hi All -- My name is Taylor Jackson, and I could probably be best described as an early adolescent investor; not a baby, but no real chest hair yet. More like a squeaky voiced, awkward growth spurt sort of investment maturity level. I hope to grow out of it soon. Anyway, after being away for a decade my wife and I recently moved home to Austin, and we’re delighted to be here. Previously we lived in Houston, and while there we flipped a couple of houses and learned a lot along the way. The only really unique accolade I can boast at this point is to probably be the only investor who can say “BP saved my life.” It goes something like this… In a moment of madness I decided to do our most recent remodel all myself, and somewhere between removing rat infested insulation and the F-bomb I got introduced to the BiggerPockets Podcast. Seventy-eight(ish) straight podcasts later—just after crown molding, but before paint overspray on new truck—I had learned quite a bit about real estate, had developed a deep, if awkwardly anonymous friendship with Brandon and Josh (and Josh’s cats), and had been spared the long slow death of trying to make it as a hack craftsman in a skilled craftsman’s world.

Thanks to BP I’m still alive and kickin’, and the game plan going forward is to flip for the purpose of generating capital to invest in longer term projects. Ultimately, I’d love to get into mid-sized multi-family properties. Being new to Austin, and relatively new to investing, I’m still very much in learn mode and would enjoy meeting up with other investors around town. Please let me know if you’d like to connect. Until next time, this is Taylor Jackson... signing off.