All Forum Posts by: Sandy Sawyer

Don't know much about hotels, but I live in Houston and can tell you I'm seeing new ones sprouting up all around. But then, Fort Bend County is on the short list of fastest growing counties in the country right now. The commercial world here is a strange breed. You have the hospitality industry feeding on the oil/gas industry, housing the oil rig workers as well as corporate families. The need for elderly housing is not going away soon either. I'm noticing too that people are largely ignoring Covid precautions, which could partly explain the chronic problem with cases here. 

I'm in the same camp with @Corby Goade. If you ask someone else with experience to put some skin in your game, they would now have a vested interest in your success. So, whether you need the funding or not, get someone else to join you on the venture that can give you tips along the way and provide an extra pair of eyes on your deal. And if they turn you down, find out the reason and you've just got a free lesson and saved a lot of headache.

@Anthony Barnard Hey Anthony, as long as the numbers make sense why not borrow the money to do the project? That said, it is going to have to be non-conforming unconventional type of financing. Around here it gets harder to get a mortgage that's anything under $100,000. The way we converted our master suite into a rental only took $11,000 and I just opened a new credit card with 0% intro rate and paid it off before that rate expired. But if you're talking $30,000, maybe hit up family and friends looking to invest their savings, or even refinance your current mortgage and use the equity for the project. 

Hey, what goes around comes around; we're all in this together!

@Vidit Maini

If you are building an apartment from scratch from permits to plumbing, electrical, cabinets, walls, flooring, yeah we came up with 30 grand. You might get it cheaper but better to come under budget than run out of money before you're finished. Don't forget the ongoing expense of running utilities.

I agree with @Wale Lawal, 25% is a little ambitious for Houston. Are you planning to come and oversee the project yourself? The Houston market is pretty hot right now, people paying for properties almost exclusively hoping for appreciation. It's very speculative right now. You almost need to have your flipping business as a hobby and not depend on making any income to support yourself for a while. 

Hi @Carmen Garza. What neighborhood are you in? I think a garage/apartment conversion is a viable option depending on several factors. I've considered doing it myself. The fact that you are not in an HOA is a huge plus! Permits will need to be pulled for adding plumbing, even for just a bathroom out there. So I suggest call out a couple of plumbers for quotes and talk to them about options. They'll probably want to tap into your house's existing line/sewer. You'll probably also have to see about beefing up your electrical too. Last time I was checking into it, there was actually a permit for garage/apartment conversion! If not, you might shoot for just adding a bathroom in the garage and see if that will fly. I turned my master suite into an apartment without any permits by using the existing water lines to add a kitchenette. For our 2-car garage, we figured it would probably cost us around $30,000 to make it into an apartment. We live in an HOA (and would need to move our existing garage junk somewhere else) so for now we're shelving the idea.

Especially if you haven’t sent an email requesting info, now would be a good time, as it might get the attention of somebody with answers.

Let me know if you need help on the Houston end. Texas has another VA loan that sweetens the deal on top of the federal. I have a great lender that can explain it better.

Since so many are learning to work from home, I foresee a ghost town of prior booming commercial renters. You might be playing it safer to just look at the potential income you’d get from rehabbing the residential side and for the time being, ignore the rest. Make an offer just based on those conservative numbers, leaving that cushion to soften your fall in case you fall on your butt. Then after you get the deal, go talk to people looking to open an assisted living facility. Who knows, maybe this is the perfect space for them! Since you’re rehabbing anyways you can include the grab bars, wider doorways, etc. (if this is a single story)