All Forum Posts by: Marian Smith

@Nina Hayden I would love to read your report.  ziti512 at yahoo.  I am not supposed to post an email outside of marketplace but I assume that is for selling stuff.

The article profiled a California investor who bought online, not only without walking the property but also never having visited Austin.  Then profiled a local RE firm that offers a bootcamp for a fee, apparently to mentor mainly female first time homebuyers, on buying a first house as an stepping stone investment property to be house hacked until #2, then airbnb'ed or rented out.  Housing has gone mainstream as an investment vehicle.  But yes, Austin is an outlier.  All things revert to the mean.

NYTimes asks has home buying and how home buyers look at buying fundamentally changed?  Austin and Austin home buyers were profiled in this Sundays NYTimes article.  I can't post the link but there is a paywall anyway.  I accessed through APLibrary's virtual library. Internet buying, airbnb investing.   Pretty bullish sentiments reported on the Texidus and all things Elon relocating here..by Californians.   Interesting read, particularly for Austin investors.  Thoughts?

@Jack Orthman Here they create a condo regime with 2 member hoa. Not sure how they restructure the original loan.

@Luke Harrison I got a local credit union, a large one, to refinance a rental at 75% of the county tax assessor's appraised value. No separate new appraisal. Years ago. But if you want cash out or if the loan needs to fit into some sort of framework to be sold it may not work. But you could ask.

@Joseph Senno I would think most improvements would be 100% on the landlord unless the tenant wants to select colors, etc, or it is being done to repair tenant caused damages.

I am assuming the tenant has been there a while and is a good tenant. I don't have advice but I personally might replace the floor and take a certain amount of money as a refundable pet deposit that you will give back on move out if the floor is in good shape. That way nothing is "owed" the tenant...if he partially pays for the floor he will rightfully feel he has some sort of equity in the floor. That you should keep rental rates steady for a term or something? I rented an apartment for a year and I paid up $10 month for my floor plan supposedly because it had an extra foot overhang of countertop in the kitchen. You could also amortize the floor cost over 8-10 years and raise rent that amount.

And yes, floating solid core vinyl planks right over the existing sheet vinyl is a great solution. It will be beautiful, easier to keep clean than damaged flooring and should last a decade or two even with pets. Keep your tenant happy because you will have to replace the floor anyway if he vacates and you need to relet.

@Ted Hendry Best to own better properties where you can truthfully say it is better for your tenants to move out and rent a cheaper place. It amazes me that tenants often want to rent the nicest place they can qualify for instead of trying to cut their largest expense so they can get ahead. I like that there are cheaper places for tenants to go so if I do not renew I know I am saving them money long term.

If it has been stressful for you writing checks, think how stressful it has been for your tenants having frequent issues.  But maybe they report everything just wanting to get everything in shipshape so they can settle in and stay for a few years.  You didn't list the repairs, so it is difficult to envision what exactly is malfunctioning.  Just fyi, I have capacitors go out on hvac units seems like every summer.  Not the same unit, but it can't be predicted.  But age, fire ants, etc.  $185.  2005 is a pretty new house but the hvac, appliances and even the plumbing fixtures with hard water can easily be at the end of their lifespan. PS.  We had some pretty good sized hail in RR and parts of N Austin so you may want to look into whether your area was hit as insurance might buy you a new roof.

@Joe S. Tiling the entire house with something timeless like a mid tone wood porcelain or in your area maybe saltillo could be a lifetime floor. And if you want to sell and the floor is not the "in thing" you can float something trendy on top. I would not tile just kitchen and bath and do something else in the living because it chops up the look and flooring heights make it difficult at thresholds especially when you want to change flooring. Tile tear out is expensive. So, I too like solid core vinyl planks. Durable material, diy install, easy removal.

@Jim K. I am sure the investors who do not do any work on their properties wonder what you are going to do as you and your properties continue to age.

That job is a plumber, then handyman job. Both are usually able to accommodate "urgent" situations. Also, most painters can patch that large a ceiling repair. Cost is vs opportunity cost. Just like some pay $300 to attend a sports or music event, some pay $5-600 (minus tax deduction) to avoid the hassle/frustration/time loss of repairs of this sort...ceiling. Plumbing I would assume most non-diy landlords/pms have on speed dial.

Handy people often think it is easier to just do it themselves. Others have no problem arranging for repairs to be done. Different folks.