All Forum Posts by: Klaas V.

Thanks for all your replies!

Reading and listening to podcasts about RE investing (typically the BP ones...) sometimes make it seem so easy :-) Sometimes it is just good to have confirmation of your own conclusions. I know other investors are buying in this market I'm looking at, but that may very well be cash and long term view. I do think the area is good on the long term (fast growing population, jobs and good schools), although maybe not extreme appreciation since there are no boundaries to expansion in Houston north.

I understand I should be looking in other areas, but like @Sara Campbell said, I want to keep it close for the STR and I have time to manage those. There are several major hospitals in the area which seem to be an important factor for STR. AirDNA data tells me high occupations (60-80%). I don't necessarily need the cashflow now, so I like @Alex Bush  suggestion to  bite through the high interest rates for a while. Thanks @Zeona McIntyre for confirming the strategy that I was thinking myself! Regarding the Multifamily: I would like one, but there seem to be very few available in this area; maybe off-market, but I prefer to buy (at least my first property) with my realtor.

Hi everybody,

I'm looking to buy a property in my are (north Houston) as an investment. My plan is to do STR, but I am also making the LTR calculation in case STR does not work out or in case I do no longer have the time to self-manage.

I'm looking to buy a single family for 250-350. I did my calculations for a LTR and currently a 310k listed home I am looking at rents out for $1900. Assuming to buy it for 300k, then taking into account maintenance (5%), Capex (5%), tax, insurance ($170/m), vacancy (5%), that results in a negative CoC return of -7.4%. I understand the unfavorable interest rates doesn't help, but the Cap rate is also only 3.3%. I also understand home values are high, but even if I would find a similar property for 225k and do a 25k reno and be able to rent it out for 2000, the Cap rate would only be 4.3% and cashflow still negative (-1.7%).

So my questions is: what am I missing here?

I agree that sounds counterproductive, but there is a distinction in the type of house we were looking to buy (specific school zone, +4000sqft & pool) to live in and i'm looking to buy as investment. We had to decide on extending our lease by early May and at that time homes were sold 10-15% above list. It was already clear for me that this was going to cool off after summer because of rising rates. We may still decide to buy a house spring next year, but for now we stay in the rental and I am looking for ways to get a return on our savings since the stock market is not doing too well lately.

Hi,

I'm not looking for a place to live in, so I would not considerer house hacking. 

Hi,

When we were looking to buy a home in The Woodlands earlier this year, I realized many of the homes were fixed up for sale. Some qualitative, some not so much. We ended up extending our lease in June and not buying because I did not like the hyper distressed market. Because I have plenty of time, done 2 home renovations in the past (although overseas) and cash to buy a (max 300k) property and pay for renovations, I'm thinking of buying an investment property. I can spend most of my time to it, so the objective is to start off with a 'light reno' project to add value for resell together with the right marketing. My goal for the first investment is to gain experience and build a network with contractors and preferably make some money. I'm looking in the broader Woodlands area.

I'm reading about the "70% rule" and although I realize 70% may be too challenging in the current market, the price for an investment should still be considerably lower than what is listed on MLS in order for it to be 'investable'. I've seen some homes being offered on Auction.com, but would be interested in experiences. Also, I'm interested in getting in contact with Realtors that know this area and have experience working with investors.

Any other advice on how to proceed would be welcome as well!

kind regards,
Klaas