All Forum Posts by: Stephanie Ro

Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:

Originally posted by @Stephanie Ro:

Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:

who is number 1 ?

Here are the 10 most attractive real estate markets in the country, as judged by WalletHub:

1. Frisco
2. Austin
3. Gilbert, Arizona
4. McKinney
5. Denton
6. Allen
7. Durham, North Carolina
8. Reno, Nevada
9. Roseville, California
10. Nashville, Tennessee

 Frisco as in San Francisco    Or as in Texas..   I know Reno is hot and I bet Vegas is right there to..  property tax's some of best in the US.   

Good ol' copy and paste from the article. It's Frisco, Texas a suburb of Dallas. I was JUST looking at Redfin regarding this area. While I have you - I used to live in Las Vegas for over 10 years. Summerlin rocks, but was only there for a few months. I lived in Henderson and before I moved overseas, I lived in Silverado Ranch (I-15 and LV BLVD). That was my favorite spot. Once I move back to the states, I will be diving right into Real Estate. I am in the very new education phase right now. (Found BP 3 weeks ago). I knew about RE, but was deterred because of Dave Ramsey and the lot of influencers pushing Index Funds, but I know what I want! 

I really want to house hack for my first home, but was advised that I should stick to the areas I know and not move to a state where I do not know the area. The thing is, I don't want to move back to Las Vegas, but it is on the hot list. I also heard that Nevada isn't landlord friendly. Do you agree? The other place I know is where I grew up and that is Denver. Whoa. Prices have soared! What do you think? I was going to move to Indiana or Nashville or Kentucky near Cincinnati. I probably could have messaged you :) Thanks!

Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:

who is number 1 ?

Here are the 10 most attractive real estate markets in the country, as judged by WalletHub:

1. Frisco
2. Austin
3. Gilbert, Arizona
4. McKinney
5. Denton
6. Allen
7. Durham, North Carolina
8. Reno, Nevada
9. Roseville, California
10. Nashville, Tennessee

@Al Pat This makes me nervous! I'm going to need at least 20k in reserves. :(

Originally posted by @Al Pat: 

@Blake Henderson agree you will set aside about 5-10% for CAPEX. However, I had multiple situations where HVAC went out on a month 2-3 after acquiring property. I also had water heater leak within months. Needed to replace PRV because water pressure was too high. Water main lune leak and needed replacement. Not all with one property but among my portfolio. This becomes easy for someone like me with multiple properties and strong cash flow but of you just acquire a property and in six months need to buy HVAC, it will ruin your plans. Also, I get a deal on my repairs, I buy my own system and have guys install for about $700. You may end up paying more than double of what I can. Bottom line, write down your plan for current situation, have a date for each action like 30k debt paid off by March etc. because without a plan you will not get anywhere or may end up different than what you thought. All plans don't work according to plan. Anyway, follow what Jim and Nathan said, they both are very seasoned. We all have paid off debts bigger than yours but our debts were very calculated and very well vetted. Mine was not the student loans, I hate that one. My MBA was paid for by my employer.

@al pat Upon inspection by a professional house inspector, can't the HVAC system, roof, termite damage...etc., not be detected beforehand? I know there are rules about digging behind a wall and such, but can't looking at rust and leaks alert the buyer that there will be issues down the road? 

@Jack B. Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Much appreciated. I am very, very new here. 

-Is there a way to pay contractor's (the deposit specifically) through a third party so they don't run off with your money? Yes, research is key, but you never know.
-If a property has been sitting on the MLS for over 30-40 days, is this a no-go/red flag? To me it says that an investor doesn't want this so why would I?
-I've seen photos of properties on the MLS (SFH specifically) where it is "As-Is" and the photos show contractor's tools and equipment. It looks like rehab was started and they just walked off. Should I be more objective? Why would they do this? To me, it looks like they found water damage or termite damage...etc. It could also mean that the owners needed to move ASAP.

Originally posted by @Brian Walters:

@Stephanie Ro I'm in a similar position as you, just getting started. My plan right now is actually looking at condos in the Las Vegas area that can be used as an Air BnB. Everything written here matches what I've read elsewhere, there is some risk because you're also dealing with a HOA. Need to make sure they allow STR but also are well run themselves. If they are poorly managed things can go bad quick. Another thing to always remember is to factor in the monthly HOA fee when analyzing a place. Seems obvious but something easy to overlook.

Good luck, let us know what you end up doing. Personally I'm always looking to learn from others working on the same type of goal.

Hello Brian. Thank you for your input! I WISH that when I lived in Las Vegas, I had a 1 or 2 bed condo or townhouse and rented it out through AirBNB or the like. I worked in the hotel industry for years and when it was fight night or electric daisy carnival, or some major event, the city sold out. An AirBNB would have been sweet. I thought NV laws weren't very landlord friendly, but never looked into it. I was such a perfect tenant in the condo I was renting, this is why I thought it would be simple, but I failed to see everything from the landlord's perspective - until now!

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

@Stephanie Ro

Of all investments, this would be my least favourite. Smaller renter pool. Condo corps are generally ridiculously poorly managed. Someone else having a say in my investment isnt ideal. Higher turnover (1/1 is always a stepping stone). You dont own land, you own a structure with a finite lifespan). Depreciating asset vs something with land (no finite lifespan) which appreciates.

Just non stop reasons to buy a different asset class.

Hello Frederick - "Someone else having a say in my investment isn't ideal" - I have now researched and learned from this thread. No HOAs for me. I was thinking that in a hot spot, I would always have renters -near a university, Nashville, Austin, Atlanta, Denver...etc. Lot's to think about, but glad I wrote my first post in BP! 24 hrs and I have already learned valuable items to consider. Right - The condominium can sell and implode the buildings at any time. Hmmmm. I know I want to house hack, but do not want roommates!

Originally posted by @Nate Bell:

@Stephanie Ro

I had a condo in Bend, OR for a year and hated it. Vetting an HOA's financials is about as complicated as vetting a multifamily syndication, but riskier in my opinion. I never felt like I "owned" the condo. It felt more like I was doing STR arbitrage. I'll likely never own another condo, and I'd recommend either SFR or syndication instead.

Hello Nate. I really appreciate this perspective. I am so happy that my -this is what I want to do- mindset has been changed by simply getting educated, been-there-done-that recommendations. Now, I have changed my mind regarding HOAs. The thing is, I am a really easy tenant and lived in Las Vegas before going abroad. It was a 1b/1b in a condo and was part of an HOA. I thought - wow - how simple? I should buy low and rent out. However, this was from MY perspective as a tenant not a landlord! Silly me. Now, I know that HOA's can simply say "no more renting" at any time or make me pay for a massive paint job! Thank you for this. I don't quite know what syndication entails, but won't be going commercial for a bit. SFR or duplex/triplex is looking good to me! (without HOA) :)

Originally posted by @Michael Dumler:

@Stephanie Ro I think you're on the right track. Many investors start their portfolio with turn key properties for the simplicity and overall ease of the first deal. It's also a plus that you have identified your target market, Nashville, property type, SFH 1-2 bed/1-2 bath, and budeget, 85-100k. I would take action and start developing your core four (agent, lender, pm, contractor). Continue to network here on BP to assemble your team and other investors will proivide more insight on the market, and what's working for them. Last thing to note, be careful with HOA communities, many have rental restirctions that could therefore limit your investment strategy. Hope this helps.

@Genny Li Thanks for the encouragement! I am going to research, research everything until I am comfortable. I'll have to look up HOA laws more. Is your property in an HOA?

Originally posted by @Alicia Bequette:

Hey Stephanie! Nashville is certainly a hot spot now - tourism has drastically changed in a relatively short amount of time. I flipped a condo in Nashville with an HOA, and found out they didn't allow airBNB / short-term leases but did allow 1 yr leases, so just be sure to double-check the HOA rules depending on your goals. Also many parts of Nashville are limit the amount of airBNB permits, so may want to check that as well. If you need help, I'm a Realtor here! :) https://www.nashville.gov/depa...  

Thank you Alicia. I am now more educated about HOAs thanks to the kind people like you on this thread. I was online today asking about "safe" areas and I got a very mixed bag of commentary. It's going to be challenging to find a place with a low crime rate where prices aren't through the roof. I am now very certain that I want a duplex/triplex/fourplex. I'd like to live in the place and rent out the other units. These are very difficult to find in Nashville!