All Forum Posts by: Renee Burke

Thanks very much to your comments. I am gaining some clarity. @Kris Wong what areas cash flow better in Austin? I am mainly looking at central, north east and north but close to Mopac and 183. Nothing south of the river because of the commute to my kid's school, which is in northwest Austin.

Hello, I am a newbie in real estate investment and have several basic questions for you:

- ON this board I see people referring to A, B areas. Where can I find a list of the specific areas in Austin, that are A, B, etc? I am assuming that lists the zip codes?

-I'm interested in house-hacking in Austin (duplex) and living in one of the sides for about 4-5 years. I've used the calculators available on this site but have a basic question. When estimating the cash flow, If I am living on one side, what numbers do I use? For example, when asking for monthly rent, should I enter the total for both sides, even though I live in one of the sides? Or enter only one side (the renters). For expenses, there will be expenses on my side and also on the side of the renter. How do I reflect those in the calculator?

-Finding a duplex for me has been a bit challenging since I have conflicting goals. I want a property that can cash flow as soon as possible. However, in order to get that I have to look at areas that may not be the best for my children (not so much for schools but crime, etc.) Has anyone had this situation?  Suggestions? I am constantly in a conflict between the cash flow and providing a safe environment for my kids. IDeas?

Thanks

Thanks for validating my thoughts. Regarding rental income, I looked online for rental estimates in this area and the rate returned was $1500. I personally think it is low. I live in Austin and I would consider this a B+ or A area.

Hello, so I am doing my research and using the free tools available on the site (for a minimum amount of time) to analyze duplexes. I picked a random duplex and did an analysis. Unfortunately, because I am not a paid member, I cannot share it with you. However, here is the link to the property https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/...

With a 20% down, there is negative cash flow for many, many years. I do have some questions:

a) Using this particular property, what would someone have to do to get a positive cash flow? HIgher downpayment? HIgher rentals? Thoughts?

b) Also, when doing the analyses, I used the $1500 rental income (one side of the duplex) because I would be living on the other side. Is that the correct way to do the analysis?

Thanks

@Lexi Teifke sure, I'd be interested.

No wonder they went out of business. The stores were always empty.

@Aaron Gordy Hi thanks.  YOu are correct. I have been monitoring the market for the last 1-2 years (but initially looking for single family homes). I don't think a duplex WEst of MOpac would be a good investment because of the price points/rentals, etc. I think east of MOPAC is more reasonable.  I recently discovered the neighborhood near Lanier highschool (East of MOpac, north of Burnet) that looks pretty good.  Where can I learn more about potential submarkets if I am looking at $380k or lower?

@Aaron Gordy Good observation! In order to house hack, I want to be close to Anderson high school because my kid goes there. It's a convenience thing for me. I want to have a duplex that is an investment property but also can provide a good base for me and kid for 4 years.

@Costin I. Thanks, for all the suggestions.  Yes, I've started listing my criteria but if you want to share a sample, that would be great!

Thanks for the feedback. I think there is a meetup for either the above ground or underground groups. I will be attending.