All Forum Posts by: Matt Moreland

Relationships > Revenue 10/10 times. 

Focus on building genuine relationships rather than building a "client base" and both your career and life will be more fulfilling.

Yikes! Experienced something similar with a property that had built-in wooden shelves in the shower with a light coat of paint over it. I would expect the worst and hope for the best -- the water has likely been seeping through that wood and into the wall for years, so budgeting for a whole gut job on there would be in your best interest.

I can't tell if the window is opaque or not, but if replacing it and gutting/repairing the water damage are not both in your budget then at least take care of the damage and get that sorted out. Figure out a way to prevent water from pooling around the window, and apply an adhesive opaque film (you can find rolls on Amazon for $5-10 that work just fine) in order to maintain privacy for anyone using the shower.

There is an absolutely INSANE amount of gurus flooding the internet right now. It breaks my heart because they wouldn't be out there if they weren't successfully conning people out of their money for useless courses. Had an old friend that spent $10k plus on guru courses and upsells and it made me nauseous because myself and everyone else on BP would have happily provided the same if not better knowledge than what is taught in these bogus courses. This is the first place I send people to when they want to learn about RE.

I highly suggest checking out a guy by the name of Stephan who has a YouTube channel called Coffeezilla where he essentially cracks down on all these gurus and calls them out for what they're doing. Gives them a chance to come on his show and defend themselves (hint: most are too afraid to do so because they know that what they're selling is lies). 

Building on your comment regarding your agent saying it is a loaded question @Truman Anderson, she is saying that because for a real estate professional (Real estate agent, lender, inspector, appraiser) to tell someone that an area is dangerous, should be avoided, has lots of crime etc. is actually a violation of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and is considered discrimination (which she could get in big trouble for). By not answering your question, she is simply following federal law and making sure she doesn't lose her ability to make a living selling real estate in Texas. 

By contacting the local police department or sheriff's department, you don't have to deal with the restrictions placed on real estate professionals when it comes to discussing crime in certain areas. They can tell you how it is and what parts of town to avoid/gravitate towards if you are looking for a safe place to invest in or live. Additionally, most PD and SD websites have crime heat maps that are going to be more accurate than what anyone will be able to tell you anyway!

@Cary O. it is definitely pretty crazy to have a $200k property and be writing $4500 checks each year. Even if you own the property in cash, at the end of the day we are still renting it from the gov and if we don't pay, we don't get to play!

That being said, we are still seeing similar percentages in property tax out here in the much less densely populated west Texas where rent per square foot is quite a bit lower and are still cash flowing. We've got some properties across DFW in our portfolio that cash flow decently, but the biggest benefit is that even if they aren't cash flowing $500/mo, they're still rapidly appreciating each year as the market continues to explode there.

I think every market is going to have its inherent obstacles to overcome, and Texas has its unique way of gouging us with property taxes. I will certainly take that over some of the obstacles faced in markets that have anti-landlord regulations/laws and rent control. At least you can contest/fight tax increases on properties LOL.

Absolutely, Steven. It's a lot of the smaller markets that aren't on the radars that have some of the best deals. 

Yes sir, I specialize in investment real estate sales with a focus on multifamily but I do all sorts of investment real estate transactions. Personally invested in the market here with 4 separate multifamily properties in Lubbock so I don't preach what I don't practice firsthand! Out of the properties across the state, our Lubbock properties have by far been our most consistent performers in terms of rentability, appreciation, and cash flow. 

Any time, if y'all end up doing something in Texas feel free to give me a holler and I would be more than happy to introduce you to the best in the biz in whichever market you land on! 

Hey, @Truman Anderson! I would not let your budget of $120k dictate what you end up investing in whether it be a single family or multifamily, or investing at all. Before buying the first property that fits your budget, the most important thing you can do is work backwards from your longterm goals as Steve mentioned above.

Figure out where you want to be 20 years from now, 10 years from now, 5 years from now, etc, and work back all they way to what you need to be doing every single day, week, month, and year until then in order to achieve those goals. If house hacking via an FHA loan on a $120k house in Killeen will get you there, then lean in and hammer down to make it happen.

If your goal requires a different level of action, you still have time to adjust now since you haven't bought a property and really zero in your sights on what is best for you and your wife. Maybe instead of buying your first investment with an FHA loan in an area you're uncomfortable living in, it's a sign that your capital is better allocated in a joint venture with a partner who is willing to be the boots on the ground doing the rehab. Maybe explore hard money lenders and private money lenders, and go to some local real estate meetups to see if there is anyone that does flips or BRRRRs that you could provide value to and also get to partner up with on a future deal.

Highly recommend checking out the books The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan (they've had Jay on the BP Podcast a few times to talk about several of his great books) for more clear goal setting strategies to help you determine where you want to be and how to get there. As far as using your $120k FHA loan you're approved for, I would personally not buy something if you aren't stoked about it. Use the time you have now to find someone you can work with and learn more about different niches within investing so that when you have some more capital to work with you aren't restricted to the FHA's strict requirements and being forced to live somewhere you don't love.

@Steven Kassler congratulations on making the decision to dive into real estate, and especially multifamily! 

Looks like many share this opinion, but I believe Austin is getting over saturated at the moment and the scale is starting to tip more towards institutional investors making up the majority of viable players in that market. Same goes for the DFW metroplex. 

Based on what Ola said above (and he is one of the foremost experts in Texas in my opinion), you can still find other excellent opportunities in markets that aren't hot on Bloomberg or these forums all the time. Houston is a huge city and I still have friends taking down deals there that would be unheard of in DFW or Austin right now.

Another option is exploring some of the tertiary markets in the state that get less attention from the big dogs. Moving from Dallas to Lubbock, TX I have been consistently impressed with the ROIs on multifamily properties here, and the amount of meat left on the bone when investors are selling multifamily properties here. Would make an excellent case study for the perfect value adds LOL. 

The next complication of being an investor comes after the easy part of finding and acquiring the right deal, and that is operating it. Whether you are managing it yourself remotely or decide to bring in a 3rd party management team, contractors, etc on the ground, it is paramount that you do your due diligence and make sure that you are hiring the right folks. Too many horror stories about perfectly fine investment properties being run into the ground even though mgmt is sending glowing updates to owners only to find out their property has been completely neglected and is in disrepair when they make the trip out to visit or decide to sell years later.

Regardless of which market you and your partner end up in, I highly recommend checking references for vendors, contractors, agents, management, etc. with as many local on the ground sources as possible to verify that you are doing business with the best.

Cheers and best of luck on your acquisition of your duplex/fourplex in the near future!

-Matt

Hey @Austin Hughes! Hope you're doing well man.

A lot of the portfolios that get listed in Lubbock are listed way over market price and not marketed effectively which is counterintuitive if the point is to get it sold and/or 1031 into something else. You are going to get some hits from listing it on the MLS, sure, but most of the serious buyers on a decent sized portfolio are going to be direct contacts of investment agents or other investors you know yourself, as most buyers perusing the MLS at any given moment are not looking to buy 10 - 20 single family houses in one go.

Buyer retention is huge. You gotta keep eyes on the listing and get them through the numbers before anyone will be submitting offers. Most packages in our market are listed with little to no property information and few if any photos and financials. Putting together a high quality offering memorandum just like you would for a multifamily property and outlining the package as a singular investment, along with historical financials that back up your pricing goes a long way in terms of retention of serious buyers and moving them into the stage where they are interested in submitting serious offers. It sets your listing apart from every other package of properties that is pushed out too quickly with the assumption that it will sell with little to no supporting information. 

So overall, pricing it to sell as a package (not as individual properties added together and priced at a premium), delivering it directly to investors in addition to listing services, and providing high quality information on the property are some of the biggest levers you can pull to attract serious offers and not see it sit for months with no activity. Shoot me a text/call if you wanna visit some more about it, would be great to chat and catch up on what you've been up to!

@Douglas Brian Clark

Hi Douglas! My business partner Lisa Victor and myself have helped countless clients with flips and buy and holds here. Lisa has significant experience doing them herself with her husband, and I would be more than happy to connect you.