All Forum Posts by: Matthew Ries

 Exactly.  That is a nice neighborhood - great location to LCU/TTU/SPC/and medical.  I have a friend who bought a rental in the same area.   Good luck! 

I forgot to mention - everything in Lubbock is pretty easy to get to within 10-15 minutes.  Don't limit yourself to just inside the loop.  I use to commute to campus from 82nd/Milwaukee because my rent was cheaper than living within walking distance to campus.  My thought was - if I was going to have to drive and park, living at 50th St was not much different than being out at 82nd St.

Just to give you some perspective on the city's growth.

2005/2006 - I came to school at TTU and west of Loop 289, and South of 82nd street were very undeveloped.  Milwaukee was just a newly constructed road with no businesses.

Fast forward to present day - the city is well developed out past 130th St.  Milwaukee is a N/S running street with ~50k cars/day of traffic and lined with businesses.  A new Loop 88 is to be built connecting US-84 -> 130th St -> to Hwy 179 (Wolfforth) -> Shallowater

Lubbock Cooper is the 2nd fastest growing school district in the state of Texas (this might be a stat from 2016)

There is new construction going up straight S of town from University all the way to Milwaukee.

You can find new builds ~$96-105/sqft, but the numbers are really thin given the higher taxes in Cooper and Frenship.

Tech Terrance is expensive, and rented almost entirely to students, but if you go just outside Tech Terrance you can find great prices and still fill them with students.  Student rentals can be great, I think they bring balance to our market.  You have 2 hospitals, multiple universities, a law school and a medical/health sciences school bringing in quality tenants.

I tend to try to stay west of University and south of 4th St. - I don't have any intention to slum lord east of I-27 or deal with some of the large duplex neighborhoods off of Erskine St - that's just my personal opinion.

Let me know if you ever need anything in town.  Good luck!

 Thank you Jeff, I appreciate this advice.  I really needed to be reminded of the point of your last line.  I'm trying to find a good deal without forcing one - meanwhile, balancing the temptation of big spreadsheet returns on properties that might be realistically more headaches than they are worth.

Hello everyone,

I have a question regarding MFs for all the seasoned investors.  How important is "location" in MF investing?  Currently, I invest in SFs and location is very important for any prospective properties - 1) because it may attract a certain tenant (ie. great school district, or close to a college campus) and may also help me avoid certain tenants that might be troublesome and 2) future resale/appreciation.

I am interested in pursuing MFs, and I find some really great cash flowing properties in my city (and out of state), but they are located on the edge of what might be considered less desirable part(s) of town.  Do you ever sacrifice location for cash flow?  Would you forego location if the deal was a clear value add move?  I feel like there is always some give/take in real estate, might sacrifice some cash flow for a prime location and newer property and vice versa - am I wrong?

Ideally, a newer MF in the expanding part of the city with great numbers (and within the budget) is what I'd like, but unfortunately that does not exist.

Looking forward to the feedback.

Thanks

I personally do not want any tenants knowing my home address.  I'd opt for the PO BOX, but after we had a "lost" letter once, we have tried to avoid having tenants mail checks.

If they are handy with simple technology - use Venmo or CashApp or direct bank to bank transfers (I'd set a separate bank account up for the property).  We currently utilize these technologies and it's very convenient and easy for everyone involved.

I have collected rent on some properties in person on the 1st of the month, but it's time consuming and inconvenient to set up collection times.  I would avoid this.

Another option, create the second bank account - and have them deposit a check (or cash) directly into the account each month.

In my area, we have affordable new construction in great school districts, but every time I run the numbers - I can't get the properties to cash flow. The property taxes are high, the construction costs are non-negotiable, and even factoring out CapEx (under the assumption you shouldn't have any capital expenses for the first 5-8 yrs) - they still will only break even with self managing. Break even during the good times, I feel like, is just setting yourself up to fail.

We have used Venmo (or Cash App) which is no fees if it's bank to bank transfers, and relatively quick - just sent CashApp to instantly deposit any account balance after money is received.

The other option we have used with some responsible tenants - direct deposit. We set up a deposit account at our local bank, and give them the account number.  1st of the month comes around and once their rent deposit clears - we transfer the balance into our main account.

Venmo or CashApp would be my preference though.  The other option with giving out a bank account number and the nuisance of keeping the money moving isn't worth it.

good luck!