All Forum Posts by: Larry H.

Another seminar...We bought a property in Bandera, TX at the end of June.  Bandera is just outside San Antonio, Boerne, Kerrville, Hondo, Helotes, and Castroville (yes, I was trying hit those keywords).  The tenant had a rent to own agreement with the previous owner.  The tenant decided he was not going to pay us, so I went through the eviction process.  I just had the eviction denied by a judge because of the rent to own agreement, even though the tenant could not provide a contract.  I made the mistake of acknowledging I was aware of the agreement.

Judge said we did not properly terminate an executory contract and advised me to contact an attorney.  He said the Justice of the Peace office does not have authority to terminate and executory contract and said it would have to go through the district court.  

I tried giving the tenant an opportunity to pay and stay, and also offered cash for keys if he could be out this weekend.  He declined both.

Can anyone offer any advice on the foreclosure process in TX or recommend an attorney in the aforementioned areas?

This class of properties is VERY management intensive.  The tenants typically don't have any credit, and don't care about their credit, therefore you have very little leverage to get them to comply with what you want.  I definitely would not recommend tackling this class of property unless you are local to the property or hire a management company experienced in dealing with this class of property.

I am speaking from experience.  We own 10 doors in 3 properties in a C class neighborhood, and we are 9 hours away.  I just signed closing docs on one four plex, and trying to sell the other 4 plex also.  They would be great if we could be there to manage them, but we made the mistake of not allowing for property management.  We have family members as our boots on the ground, but it's not good enough.

We currently own some four plexes and a duplex. We are looking to expand to bigger multi family properties. I’ve seen a few properties where all or majority of units are only 1 bedroom. My initial thought was to stay away from them because I feel like the turn over will be higher with only 1 bedroom. Multiple bedrooms are more conducive to families, this less likely for high turn over, in theory. Am I correct in my assumption?

How do you estimate insurance when evaluating a multifamily property, without calling an insurance agent. I evaluate quite a few deals, but that is the one thing I haven't really figured out. I have quads, duplexes, and SFH and comparing the insurance doesn't really help. Our duplex is almost as much as our quads, and if I multiply our SFH times 4, that is much more than what we pay for the quads.

I am evaluating a multifamily deal in Huntsville, AL and my insurance guesstimate is way over what was provided by the seller's agent.  But the amount provided by the agent seems unrealistically low.

I live in Bandera. Haven’t bought any deals in the local area. All of our properties are in Louisiana. I’m always looking locally, but haven’t come across anything better than what I can get somewhere else.

I emailed my CPA to ask what our tax liability would be if we sold some properties. He answered my question via email and I got a bill a month later. I feel like we pay a lot for our tax prep ($1500) and to be billed to ask a question seems a little petty. I have asked questions before and not been billed. Is this common practice?

I think it depends on the standard in your area. Are other landlords in the neighborhood paying utilities? Personally, I’m not a fan of paying any utilities. We pay water and sewer in 2 of our fouplexes and I think it encourages waste. When the faucets leak or toilets valves run, they never tell us. However, paying the water is the standard in our neighborhood and getting separate meters installed is cost prohibitive. We raised the rent on most of the units. If there’s a way to have separate meters installed, I would go that route.

Selling our 2 four plexes in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 

2 bd/ 2 ba units, approximately 1000 sq ft each. 

100% occupied, several long-term, dependable, loyal tenants. 

Vacancies fill extremely fast. 

Market rents are $650.

Insurance runs $2700 per year

Property tax $1500

Most units have tile or vinyl plank

Several units have new appliances

2143 Anne Marie Dr., Baton Rouge, 70820

2255 Anne Marie Dr., Baton Rouge, 70820

Please do not disturb tenants

$149,000 each

Will consider owner finance / lease option.

@Brandon Johnson, would you mind sharing some of your lessons learned or specific numbers?  I am 9 months in to a flip in Denham Springs.  I've already had a few education courses, but I think we are still on track to profit if I can ever get the house finished.