All Forum Posts by: Okeoma M.

@Rod Brady - Like much of Texas, the market in Abilene is pretty hot especially around the ACU area. Generally I'm finding that cash offers are the only way to make the numbers work. I'm hoping things cool down a little so I can pick up a few more properties.  I think there is money to be made on flips but I don't have the time to pick up any big projects right now so I haven't looked into it that seriously. 

@Daniel Decker Does some great work in Abilene and may be able to chime in with his thoughts of the market. 

Good luck. Feel free to reach out with any other questions. 

Thanks for the shout out @Justin Windham

My two cents:

I agree with @Patrick Desjardins but maybe I'm misunderstanding the nature of the relationship. You should ask him specific questions about why he thinks this doesn't qualify and make  sure he seems EXTREMELY knowledgeable around the rules. Saying "these aren't securities so we don't have to worry about it" doesn't cut it. At the very least you'd need to file the proper exemptions under Reg D. 

Also you should talk to a tax professional on the self directed portion because I know that the IRS has been cracking down on creative uses of the self directed 401K funds esp for investors who are at or near retirement. 

* While I am an attorney, this is not intended to be legal advice. I would always encourage you to seek out your friendly neighborhood attorney for real legal advice :)

Hello!

I'm toying with the idea of looking for a property to be converted into a co-work space. I've done some market research and there seems to be the demand. I suppose this as much a business idea as it is a real estate investing idea but I'd love to hear any thoughts people have on running the analysis. 

Does anyone have any experience in this space? TIA.

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses. Since I posted a few months ago, I actually made the move to Dallas! We are currently renting in Lakewood but definitely still looking to invest. 

@Steve Fox - I'm putting together a team of investors who are eager to invest in the right deal. I'll PM you so we can discuss!

@Chad Benedict - I appreciate the advice. I've been spending a lot of time looking at houses on the market and recent flips to get a better understanding of the Bishop Arts area, but also expanded my search to other areas. 

@Chris Soignier - I couldn't agree more. Having been here for about 6 weeks now, I think it is insane to see what people are paying for homes here in the Lakewood area and around the M Streets!! 

@Ryan H - That's great that you hung in there and managed to get a good thing going with your Bishop Arts property. I have my eye on a couple of properties in the Bishop Arts area. I'll PM to discuss.

@Hattie Dizmond - I hadn't heard much about Trinity Groves until a couple of weeks ago. I plan to go out there this weekend and take a drive around.  Thanks for the tip!

I agree with @Shawn Thom and @Mark S. it's a great market to invest in but deals are hard to come by in the metroplex. Real estate market is really active so I'm sure that there are lots of investors, agents, property managers, etc. who would love to share the expertise with a young investor who is willing to hustle and add value. I'd definitely advise that you network and make connections before jumping in! Good luck.

@Christie Bussey, Thanks! I'm surprised to hear that I sound confident because I was definitely terrified. I have actually not done any more deals. I promised my husband that I'd wait at least 6 months before jumping back in.  I am actually a corporate attorney. 

Welcome to REI! Feel free to reach out with any questions and good luck on your journey.

@Jesus Villarreal I also invest in Abilene and would agree that the market is extremely hot right now, however with that in mind, I think that it's really the ideal time to pursue a yellow letter strategy because everything that I've seen on the MLS is going at 90-110% of list price. I'm not sure how people are making money on these deals but I'm sitting back for awhile until things cool down but definitely keeping my ears and eyes open for off-MLS opportunities. Feel free to message me if you want to chat shop. Love meeting others who invest in the Abilene area.

I also invest in Abilene and used a small local bank. I had the same problem and the only appraiser willing to do it wanted to charge $1500! However the bank was handling it and were able to use their relationships to get an appraisal for half that price. Whole process took over 6 weeks!  If you can, I'd try to find a bank that will handle the process.

@Chris Fethke Did you ever make a decision on this? I need to open a business account as well and was wondering the best way to proceed. 

@Jonathan Acosta-Torres How do I manage?... badly. haha. 

Seriously though...We have a PM that handles most of the day to day stuff and I have family in town who help me with the big projects. For instance we just renovated one of the units which I managed myself with the help of my family because my PM does charge me 10% fee on top of outside services. In other words, small jobs that their handyman, etc can handle are included in their services but anything that requires outside contractors incurs an additional fee. (which I would try harder to negotiate out of the contract in the future)