All Forum Posts by: Stephen Stokes

I am using Brent @ QuickPics for a before/after rehab shoot and they can do drone shoots. 

PM for his #.

@David Ivy

I am in. We can meet at Uncle Billy's brewery on Barton Springs. 

Looking for contractor referrals to fill current relationship list gaps in following areas for Austin residential redevelopment/rehab projects. Reliable, licensed, insured, professional, experienced, etc. I could search all day on Homeadvisor, Angie's List, Yelp, etc. but prefer to hear specifically from those with experience in residential redevelopment vs. homeowners doing single jobs. Looking for long term relationships not one-off connections. 

-Carpenter

-Landscaper

-Windows and Siding Specialist

-Painter

-Drywall Specialist

-Plumber

-Demolition & Clean Up Crew

-Paving/Driveway Specialist

-Fence Specialist

-Tile Specialist

-Carpet Specialist

-Cabinet Specialist

-Post Construction Cleaning

Have seen the same but also seen many popping at over list in 1 day on the market. Believe it just depends on the area of town. 

Austin still has room for growth. Houston might be more attractive if you think of Warren Buffet value investing approach. Sounds like you view HTX as "on sale" right now.

@Jarrod Weaver exactly! This year I did absolutely nothing because I have TPT signed up to automatically fight my taxes on all my properties. My SFH rental in North Austin came in at $288K and I got a notice that they got it down to $251K.

FYI - My primary agent told me he just sold one few hundred sqft less around the block for $285K!

I will gladly pay the pro's for those kind of results. 

In my humble opinion, your time can be better spent on other activities. Let the pro's do this work for you. I use Texas ProTax (https://www.texasprotax.com/) but there are others out there I just believe they are the best and your results and ROI will not beat them. Had an uncle in this industry for years, was even on the appraisal board then had an independent tax consulting firm. Sold his business to TexasProTax and even lets them do his personal property protests now!

@Travis Smith Highly recommend downloading The Book on Managing Rental Preoperties by Brandon and Heather Turner who also runs this site. I was a first timer as well and can't say enough how well prepared I felt going into it after listening to this audio book on Amazon's Audible. If you don't have an account already, you can even get it for free. 

On Dogs, I choose to adopt the advise of the book and forbid any pets owners and smokers. I even found one of my applicants to be lying about having a dog by pulling up their Facebook profile. Good luck!

Good experiences and bad please share feedback on hard money lenders you have used to acquire multi-fam rehab properties in Austin area. Specifically, I am looking to purchase a duplex with minor repairs/upgrades needed, rehab and then refi to conventional loan. What type of rates have you seen? What should one look out for? What does the structure of a "good" loan look like? This will be my first experience this type of transaction so I prefer to learn from others' experiences instead of making my own mistakes.