All Forum Posts by: Patrick Skinner

I'm currently looking for a place to rent.

Most people would say that this is probably the complete opposite of a place to look for a rental, but my wife and I have had a lot of difficulty finding a place to rent.

Why am I renting?

I joined biggerpockets a few months ago and have been studying a great deal to prepare for my first REI. But, my rental agreement ends in the beginning of November and I don't want to put the stress on myself and my wife to find a du-, tri-, or fourplex to house-hack within less than 60 days as my first investment. I feel something could go terribly wrong amid the rush of getting the deal done.

Why not look at apartments.com/zillow?

Everything I've gone to look at has been terrible so far. Nothing has what we're really looking for, which I don't feel we're being far too picky on. So, I came up with the idea of posting here to see if any REI investors have properties in our area that might fit our needs.

Where do I want to rent?

DFW Area, Texas: Lewisville, Carrollton, Coppell, Grapevine, Flower Mound to be exact.

Desired Spec's:

Rent Range: $1,100 - $1,550

Bedrooms: 3

Bathrooms: 2-3

Minimum Sq. Ft.: 1,250

Moving Date: Mid-Oct. to Early Nov.

Needed Appliances: Fridge.  I own my own washer/dryer & can get a microwave if I need to.

Things I've had issues with:

Tiny bedrooms, terrible lighting, and terrible leasing offices (apartment specific).

Things to know:

This is for my family.  Myself, my wife, my two-month-old son, and my brother.

We take extremely good care of our places of living.  It's more of a cultural thing than a normal cleanliness thing, guess.

Getting to know and network with a REI Investor would be a bonus, but obviously not required.

If anyone has any properties in those areas with what we're looking for, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Admins:  I hope this discussion is appropriate. Let me know if I need to move the discussion elsewhere.

Cheers,

Patrick Skinner

Thanks for the Input.

I'm using a private investor on this deal. 90% of the research I've done is towards a House-Hack, because that's what I had intended my first deal to be done as. But, I couldn't pass up the opportunity when I was approached about having a private investor. I just have a laundry list of questions in regards to this: should I form an LLC for tax purposes, someone to review all the paperwork with me, etc.

I have a property that I'd like to close on by next week.  But, I'd like to meet with a CPA and Attorney that is familiar with REIs.  This is my first deal, so I just want to make sure I'm crossing the "i's" and dotting the "t's"...

I'm looking around in the DFW area, but mostly Dallas and cities north. (i.e. Frisco, The Colony, Lewisville, Richardson, Garland, Carrollton, Plano, etc.)

I greatly appreciate it if anyone has any recommendations.

Cheers,

@Flavio Zanetti

Thanks for the input!

Hey everyone,

This may be a dumb question, but I just want to make sure I'm reading these listings on zillow.com correctly. I'm currently looking for my first REI purchase in a multi-family duplex, triplex, or fourplex to house-hack.

Question #1: How exactly do I filter duplex, triplex, or fourplex search on zillow and make sure that it's for the full multi-family property and not just a single unit?

Question #2: I've been having difficulty interpreting whether some of the listings are just a single unit of a multi-unit property that's for sale or for the whole property.

Here's an example:

Dallas Duplex Listing

It shows that the unit count is 2, but the images and pricing lead me to think that it's only for one unit.  Again, this is probably a dumb question, but I figured I'm going to be full of them as I embark on my first purchase.  So, I might as well rip off the bandaid and start asking away.

Cheers,

@Tim Ball

I have money to invest, but I'm also considering using a VA Loan as long as I can get a solid deal on a property.

This is mine and my wife's current area of interest:

Despite having the money to invest now, I'm still pretty early in the "research & self-education" phase of REI. But, I'm always willing to look at current deals to see what's available and meet with other REIs.

Hi @Brett Snodgrass,

Thanks for the warm welcoming!  I look forward to where this journey will take myself and my family.

I didn't previously see the email about how to post an introduction prior to posting this.  I was going to edit the title with my location, Flower Mound/Lewisville, Texas.