All Forum Posts by: Michael Guzik

@Paul Moracco That's a great question my friend, and good on you for taking action!

Being a realtor is not easy and any avenue in real estate is tough in my opinion. If you are only going to put in a limited amount of time make sure you are 120% focused during that time. I'm not trying to be a negative nancy here but you will be competing with a million other agents in this hot market who are doing this full time and giving it their 100%. Make sure you have a good team, get good training and are willing to learn and put in the work!

If you want this to be a little side hustle then I definitely think it's worth diving into, trying and learning more about. Just don't expect to make the big bucks only doing it part time!

@Joe S. This is a great question man, I would turn it around and ask you a few. Do you have good systems in place for management? If so then maybe you just need a leasing agent to handle the showings etc. Are you trying to free up time and mental energy? Go with a PM company that will charge more but take that side of investing off your plate so you can focus elsewhere!

@Matthew Tyson Great job man! I'm curious as to why you didn't build something on it for cash flow or to just sell? I know that area is not the best zip code to flip in, but depending on the lot size you definitely could have built and sold, or built and had it rented out!

Sarah,

I don't know companies doing this exactly here in San Antonio, but that area around Ft Sam Houston is a great area! MAKE SURE you are careful on where you buy around there though. The east side is pretty rough and on paper some deals look great but in person they aren't. Try and stick around the Mahncke Park area if possible!

@Kenneth Quattrocchi You are looking for a needle in a haystack my friend. You are trying to buy something at the top of a red hot seller's market! The only way to find a deal that works numbers wise is to know wholesalers, investors and people doing deals off market. Even then I'm seeing "off market" deal prices continue to rise and rise. There are definitely deals out there, but you have to know someone, put in the time and be flexible because it's a seller's market and they want top dollar for their property.

@Howard Mintz This is a very niche community and type of development in my opinion my friend. I would check out Investor Related and maybe even agent/broker FB groups and see who knows someone. I can speak from a builder/developer's perspective that we don't do consulting because it isn't a high value use of our time, we either partner where people bring the land and have equity in the project or we buy them out so to speak. If you are wanting to be involved I would look for a smaller independent team that would be a true "partner" on the ground so to speak! 

@Sergio Moratto I agree with @Jeffrey Donis find smaller markets right outside or around the "bigger market". I'm lucky that San Antonio isn't so big and there are still plenty of affordable pockets within the city.

@Sean Chua I don't mean to be a pessimist but I'm in New Construction/Development and now is probably one of the worst times to do this in my opinion. As @Dallas Hayden there are so many issues with materials, labor and all the things related to building. The ROI is still there if you buy the land right and have a team behind you to build the project. However here are the problems I am currently seeing.

1. It is getting harder and harder to find land for "the right price"

2. Trades/Labor, Materials and everything related to construction is increasing in price. Our bids are only good for 30 days and even then sometimes the cost has gone up in that time window. 

3. When all is said and done when you are finished the "new" sales price is probably going to be much higher than you intended. This isn't a problem is your plan is to build and sell, but when trying to rent is the rent going to be able to keep up with the increased cost to make it worth it to you? In my market and experience the answer is probably not. 

@Ravi K. Great advise man! I'm not in Austin but in the baby brother market here in San Antonio. I would say 70% of our projects are downtown infill development and man has that exploded! The trends right now for downtown San Antonio are condo's/townhomes due to the ability to build so many on a small piece of land, and people wanting little to nothing to do with yard maintenance and other things related to "home ownership."

It is getting harder and harder to find a "good deal" these days for our new construction communities. People are wanting more and more for their land/homes and it kills most deals on the spreadsheet at least so to speak.  However it does create opportunity and greater upside for creative deals, financing and when you do get a deal it isn't just a base hit it's usually a home run!

I'm also curious to see when things will "level out" and where the market will stabilize. So far the market is still willing to pay the increasing prices, which is good for us as a builder/seller/developer. So many people are coming from Austin and California due to the increased pricing and it has created a HUGE influx of demand and a greater buyer pool.