All Forum Posts by: Molly Morlino

 Come on out today!  (after 1:30pm) -- 701 Roland Lane in Kyle.

 You're welcome to come on out today after 1:30pm!  701 Roland Lane in Kyle.  You'll see a blue sign for Kyle RV and Boat Storage, go down that road and continue past the storage and through the gate.  They are the first houses you see.

Our open house has been a success so far! We've seen 5 people... 3 of which asked for the application link. Fantastic responses and feedback. We have made appointments with people so we don't have 15 people in this small space all at once... Several have not shown up or have canceled... Which is fine, we have lots of great people to choose from! 

We have 4 more scheduled today and 8 tomorrow. 

 We have 3 of the acres as 72 forty-foot boat/RV storage spaces (covered).  That was a $200k investment and brings in just over $6k/mo gross (teensy bit of overhead... It's very low maintenance).  It's a longer return on investment than the Little Houses and has a higher turnover rate, BUT they are VERY low maintenance and it's all done with very little contact with the tenants.

 Kyle, TX is booming... From 2500 people to 50,000 people in 20 years.  We are 30 minutes south of Austin, TX (University of Texas) and 10 minutes north of San Marcos (Texas State University).  

Plus, we're young and we would love to live here if we were single.  It's a great area - secluded, rural yet 5 minutes to the happenings in Kyle (movie theater, restaurants, shopping).  We figure single professionals who don't want to pay the far more expensive Austin rent prices or live in something old and ugly... And are beyond the apartment lifestyle.

We've had a lot of interest from older women... I think they want something quiet and easy to clean and take care of.  

We have 24 showings booked for this weekend... I think they're a hit!  Which feels amazing.  We have been confident in our decisions... but to have it based in reality now is the best feeling.

 $40k to build each house - not including land (which we are leasing) and septics (which were already installed).  But it includes everything else - from slab, plumbing, electric, to all the finishes (furniture, beam wrap, cabinets, etc)

We are pulling $1095/mo which comes out to $750 after expenses.  Income tax, property tax, land lease, small maintenance fund, landlord insurance and tithe.

We plan to build 4 more on this property and buy land to build an additional 6-10 more.

 $40k includes utilities but not land.  We are leasing the land from my parents.  My Dad bought 12 acres and put in 5 septics and a field - intention was to build 10 houses (rentals).  He built 4 (for a total of 9 - he has 5 on another property) and, as he says, "I got old, tired and I have enough  money".  So at his insistence we took over and are building the additional 6 houses - that just happen to be "little houses"

They are about 30 feet apart.  I would say 2 houses per 1 acre - that includes driveway and carport.

 Ha! People LOVE those and they were free!!!

 Haha, I'm happy to talk about it!  It was a God thing that it worked out the way it did.  We actually originally modeled it after the IKEA model we saw in IKEA's Round Rock store.  My Mom and I had never been and decided to go.  We walked into this 375 square foot model and both said, "There is NO WAY this is only 375 square feet".   We loved it.  I told my husband about it... we had been wanting to be landlords for about 3 years at this point.  He knows I'm a very optimistic and exciteable person so he was skeptical.  I told him how we could buy some land and build these and rent them out.  At first it was just "a glorified shed" in my head... Basic and simple.  $500/$600 a month, maybe.

So a month or so later he and and I went on an IKEA date.  He walked around the model for about 20 minutes - he's a very quiet guy, very contemplative (very much unlike me!) and - I remember it so clearly - he stood in the middle of the living room, looked around and said, "Yeah... I think this could work."

And that was all I needed to hear!  My parents have built 11 rentals since 1993 and this was their retirement.  My Dad has 10 acres in Kyle ( an hour away from us) and had 4 houses on it.  He already had the septics in for 10 houses (2 houses per septic) but, as he said, he was tired of building and was too old... so he said, "Why don't you come build them on our property?"  I said, "Wow!  OKAY!"  (they didn't have to twist my arm)

So we pushed, saved, paid off all of our debit (cars, credit cards... we still have our mortgage) and began in March 2017.  And here we are!

They are 28x16 with an attached 6x16 porch.  The carport you're referring to has attached 6x20 storage (6x10 for each house) so people can store their stuff. 

 The return on investment is unbelievable and makes complete sense for us.  We plan on building 4 more on this property and buying land to build 6-10 more.  This is my husband's retirement.  He's 33 and would like to retire before he's 40.