All Forum Posts by: Stan Hill

You've already gotten better input than I could give It will be interesting to see how the seller reacts. My expectation is they know they will run into the same issue with another buyer. I hope you let us know how it works out.

Personally, I'd take the December 9 move-in with a qualified tenant. Pushing for that extra money, especially with Christmas coming up, may end up creating a problem you otherwise may not have. Of course, I say this not knowing your specific market and the likelihood of finding someone else to move in by Dec. 1. We are in the same situation with a property. My advertising (a for rent sign and Zillow ad) has been much lower, ostensibly due to the holiday season not being the best time of year to get a place rented out. "As we speak", I am waiting for word our property manager has collected a deposit. The house in question was rented out within two weeks the last time we put it up for rent and this is the first time we've ever had a house sit empty for an entire month.

Yes yes yes, though it depends on the area and what your goals are. IMHO, if you're going for the long game in the nicer areas, don't expect a lot of cash flow on rentals. The math just isn't there in the nicer neighborhoods. It's appreciation that will be where it's really at. I live in a fairly typical middle class neighborhood. I've seen several houses sit there with for rent signs literally for up to 4 months! These are houses that likely rent for $1,700 - $2,000 per month. That's not our target market. And seeing how long these houses sit empty, I'm glad it's not. 

Now.... as always, it depends on what kind of neighborhoods you invest in. We are very pleased with the cash flow in our working class neighborhood rentals.  I am certainly no expert, but DFW right now reminds me of Orange County and other parts of SoCal during the 80s. The economy is booming. There is a labor shortage for new construction. Plenty of businesses are moving into the area. I think there is plenty of room for a lot more appreciation.

An anecdote on this: I spoke to a gentleman who works for Toyota. He sold his old, beat up, 1,300 s.f. house in Whittier CA for around $440,000 to a contractor. He moved to Prosper where about the same amount of money got him a beautiful 2,800 s.f. home. And the reason I met him? He was buying a car elevator because his fourth car wouldn't fit in the 3-car garage.

I believe we will absolutely see a bubble form in the DFW area. Right now, it's good, healthy economic growth. I think the signs will be there when the silly season starts.

We have properties in three DFW counties. I am constantly watching property values and waiting to hit the SELL button. I don't think we're close to being there. But of course, that's the million dollar question as always. Is it too late to get in? When should I sell? I can tell you this. I'm not selling anything now, nor do I plan to in the foreseeable future. If anything, I'd like to squeeze one more small project out on an empty lot we have.

All this said, I say this from my little bubble of properties we own, haven't bought anything in a year and half, though do searches and have alerts on properties that meet our parameters. I am anxious to hear the input of other DFWers.

Thanks for posting this, as I had posted only a negative experience. We did have a good experience with a wholesaler. We bought a house for $44,000 with a tenant in place for years, paying $675 per month.  They were an older couple. We were hoping they would stay their until death instead of defaulting.

Anyway, the day of reckoning was that they smoked in that house and had pets for 11 years. We knew it was coming and factored that into our decision to buy. We put about $14,000 into the house, but now it rents for $995 per month. And in the DFW area, it's hard to find a place where properties aren't appreciating nicely.

So where we are now: have about $58,000 into a house worth at least $75,000 and rented for $995. Oh and it sits on two lots so we can always build another house there.

I bought a house from a big name wholesaler in Fort Worth. I thought the price was too high and the repair budget optimistic. We partnered with an *experienced* flipper. She was a crook. Trust your gut. If I had listened to mine, I would have saved a lot of money. Do YOUR due diligence. Don't let someone who doesn't have any money to put into a deal they know how to do it.

NO. Sadly, it's been my experience that trying to be nice is too often perceived as being weak, with actions to take advantage of perceived weakness being taken soon after. 

In the business-to-business world, we used to send Christmas cards. I have found dealing with the general public to be a very different animal.

We partnered with a supposed "experienced investor". She didn't have a dime to contribute. If someone doesn't have money to put into a deal, run as fast as you can- especially if they claim to be *experienced*. An experienced investor who doesn't have and/or can't get money to do a deal? That's a huge red flag to me, short of clearly showing reasons why.

You already named the possibility that immediately came to my mind: buy one of the properties you can do with a conventional investment loan and not straining your resources. But I say that as someone who doesn't like partnerships and am generally pretty conservative.

Assuming the duplex is in decent shape in a stable area with good demand for that type of unit, it sounds like a decent buy.

I get one the day of. I'm pretty sure a preapproval inquiry is "hard" but not certain. I believe your DTI may be too high for conventional loans. Personally, I don't like bankers. I have found that many love to pontificate, have fancy titles on their cards but know little to nothing. Anyway, I'd try another banker, I would suggest finding out the max DTI up front, as it may have you shut down anyway.

BP is a good place. It's great to get consensus on an issue and there are plenty of people with TONS of experience here. 

I've read many books. I'm a cheapskate and buy anything that's cheap at Half Price Books. I did like the Real Estate Rehab Investing Bible and My Life and 1,000 Houses. I'm sure there's a ton more. Honestly, I've never read a bad real estate investing book.

I wish I had started with your age and the amount of money you can set aside. If you're 24 and able to save your wife's income, there is no doubt you are going to succeed. Just keep reading and learning, something all should and probably do do anyway if we're serious about this. 

Oh and I highly recommend the BP podcasts. They're usually pretty entertaining and have lots of good info. Even if a particular podcast sounds like an angle of investing you're not into, give it a shot anyway. You'll come away with something useful.