All Forum Posts by: John Lewis

Congrats! Luck definitely has a role but I'd agree with you that your growth strategy is what really got you there! Keep it up!

I used Lifeproof from Home Depot and loved it. It was a little pricey so I went to the contractor area and asked what they could do. They sent it to the bid room and knocked off almost $0.50/sq foot which was amazing. Actually had a leak in the bathroom which saturated the floors and they held up well.

@Alexander J Baynham what a story! I'm in Laplace and have kicked around the idea of buying a double in New Orleans. If you don't mind me asking what neighborhood were you in?

First off, thanks for your service! I'd suggest trying to find something like a duplex or house that has a mother-in-law apartment. You can house hack it for a little while and then figure out if you want to be a landlord. This is how I started in Laplace, LA. Also, if you have any industry in your area think about offering weekly furnished rentals. Check with local motels and see what they charge for an idea. I know the Lake Charles area is a goldmine right now.

As usual @Paul Sandhu is spot on.  Check with the local motels that offer weekly rates and the nicer extended stay hotels.  This will give you the best idea of what to charge.  Aim to not only give workers a great stay but save them a little per diem.  This is why they travel and you'll quickly get a reputation for being the go-to place to stay for the plant nearby.  As far as a background check I don't waste my time. I treat it more like a hotel stay.  One thing that could be a good idea is charging a cleaning fee up front.  There are also some great Facebook groups associated with this niche.

I rent to traveling workers all the time. If this is something popular in your area you may have found a nice little niche. I do weekly rates including utilities and stay busy throughout the year.  I haven't used airbnb to get workers so not sure I can help you there. Let me know if you have any questions. 

I'll also add that even though Houston has a large population the lowest bidder gets the job and sometimes that company doesn't have enough local workers.  For example,  when they were building the new airport in New Orleans a company out of Florida got the job and that's where the majority of the workers were from.  Same thing with the refineries.

There is definitely a market in Southeast Texas and Louisiana.  The refineries in these areas do periodic turnarounds and shutdowns throughout the year which keeps a constant flow of workers coming in combined with new construction, maintenance, and a slew of other trades.  I have properties in Southeast Louisiana in a town surrounded by refineries and oddly enough there just aren't a lot of people who have picked up on the idea of this niche.  Craigslist, bluecollarhousing.com, and there are some really good facebook groups that cover this.  I've also created my own website if you want to check it out. It's www.workerhomes.com and just launched last week so there isn't a whole lot of action on it and I still have some work to do on it.

I purchased a SFH that I rent out short term. I got a great price on the house and used a commercial loan with 10% down to purchase and a heloc for most of the repairs. After the repairs were completed I refinanced with a conventional loan and paid myself back for all the repairs. The bank wasn't very concerned with my rental strategy.

@Austin Works spending the money upfront to take care of things like roof, ac, plumbing, etc goes a long way. I try to make my houses as tenant proof as possible and knock out all of the things that could end up being major expenditures down the line. You should be able to get about 10 years out of a well done renovation before major capital expenditures start coming up so you can decide if selling in the 5-7 year range is best or holding.

Obviously the second part is finding good quality tenants. A nice renovation usually attracts better tenants. I rent to traveling workers that make $150k a year and just need a place to stay for work.