All Forum Posts by: Lynn Wise

@Brandon Galloway I agree with Jordan. If you can sell one property to buy multiple in a different area of growth, that seems like a great option. I'm in the process of selling a rental in Austin so that I have some cash reserves to do a flip. I believe Austin home prices will continue to climb, but no one has a crystal ball and just like in any market there are good investments in Austin and bad ones. Even if you don't sell, it might be a good time to pull out some of your equity in a HELOC or cash-out refi. Whether to sell depends completely on your strategy!!

@Taylor Null

I’m looking for one myself actually! Let me know if you find someone you like.

Brokers take on risk for every agent they oversee. In exchange, they get a percentage of any commission you make. Most won't take you on (or keep you on) if you don't bring enough business to the brokerage, and many only hire established agents with an established sales record. If you decide to move forward, you'll need to look for a brokerage that takes on new "solo" agents (rather than joining a team). Most don't provide much training, or if they do it comes at an extra cost (KW is an example), and a lot of the costs of doing business (memberships, insurance, software, marketing etc.) will fall to you individually. You'll have to do the math to see if those business costs outweigh the commission costs you'll save by acting as your own agent. This isn't to discourage you, just to prepare you! Feel free to message me. I'm an investor and agent in the Austin area.

Same! Please send me info.

Have you talked with a lender yet? We've put less than 15% down on conventional loans. You pay PMI, but if your area is appreciating quickly you can have the PMI knocked off early.You'll probably have to pay for another appraisal, but that's way cheaper than refinancing down the line. A lender will be able to give you more complete info specific to your situation.

If you're looking for a single family home anywhere in Austin or the surrounding areas, be prepared for a lot of competition. If you're open to a new build, fixer upper, condo, duplex, or other multi-family property, you'll have slightly less competition. I'm an agent and investor in the area — happy to discuss further.

Congrats Taylor! I'd also suggest keeping the house under your name. An LLC might make sense when you have multiple investment properties. I did this same thing in Austin recently. I have a separate (personal) bank account for my rental income and expenses. And I log all income and expenses in Zillow's P&L template. You can look up instructions for figuring out a depreciation schedule on the IRS website. An accountant can also help you set that up, or TurboTax makes it very simple if you do your own taxes. Most lenders will allow you to use a percentage of your rental income to reduce your debt to income ratio once you have a signed lease. Happy to discuss further if you dm me.