All Forum Posts by: Tatum Littleton

I agree, with Joe, it does come down to you and how comfortable you are with house hacking and if it makes sense for you financially and for your family. So you would need to look into is losing about $700 a month is worth it and can you deal with that for a period of time. If it retains value and you plan to hold on to it for a while, it could be a possibility. 

If your goal for house hacking is not to cashflow immediately it may make sense if you're paying a significantly less amount in mortgage and expenses on your house hack because the other side is effectively helping pay that amount. For instance, it may look like paying the $700 difference of renting your current property plus whatever your portion of the house hack would be (hopefully a significant amount less) and being similar to what you pay now or maybe a bit less depending on what you get for the house hack. That's just one scenario.

But again it depends on what you can handle and what makes sense financially, I couldn't give you a perfect answer on what to do. 

Hi Krysten, good for you for finding a niche and what you're interested in! It's great you are enthusiastic and ready to invest, don't let analysis paralysis stop you! As River already mentioned, I would also suggest looking into meetups as well to continue to learn and grow your network. 

Mid-term rentals could be a sweet spot between short and long term depending on where you are and what your market looks like. I have been considering getting into mid-term rentals as well. Just make sure you run your numbers well and that it make sense, not just because it "looks nice", be smart, investing is a marathon, not a sprint! Keep it up!

Hey Matthew, that is a great question that we all ask when we are where you are. But it isn't so easy to answer. It seems like you enjoy being active and using your hands so maybe the BRRRR method (buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat) is your best bet as you could save some money and do plenty on your own, you could also do a live in flip potentially and sell it or rent it out later. Of course, you may have heard about those two already but great options for someone like you.

I would recommend making a good list of what your goals are and what may interest you in real estate. Is it managing a property maybe short, mid or long term on your own? Maybe you just want to fix up places and do flips.

I would consider reading this beginner's guide, it is a lot of information but will help you get a good over view of different niches, financing and education. 

Good for yall Aubrey! What to buy? Thats pretty personal to each investor. I would suggest having a conversation first about what interests you the most, being excited about investing goes a long way, I would not just do it just to do it, what will motivate both of you? It could be doing a live in flip if you are handy and/or want to learn new skills. Maybe you like the service industry and want to run a short term rental on your own. There are plenty of possibilities. 

I would also evaluate where you are at in life in regards to kids? Wanting kids in the future? No kids at all? Or if you want to move maybe? Moving to the most favorable market possible? Where can you save more and be more frugal? How can you set yourself up now for when you are ready to purchase, you will be ready to go ASAP.

To answer your question, when to buy? I don't know, timing the market is impossible so when is the right time is when you are willing and able. If you have the money and can purchase it, go for it as soon as you can, don't wait for the perfect time, you may lose out on something that could be a great deal.

As it has been said, mistakes are made by everyone so don't lose hope after reading about others mistakes... learn from them and your own experiences. Its a marathon, not a sprint, we're all learning as we go! Good luck!

As Gabe asked, I would ask the same thing, if you have an agent? If so, have them hold the builder to the fire, that is not acceptable for a brand new home and that should be on them to fix that and anything else. I had a similar issue as a buyer's agent and I had to go back and forth with the builder multiple times and even back up the closing date because there were a few items to take care of, have your agent represent you on that. There are usually, plenty of issues with new homes, I would strongly recommend still having a home inspection before closing (if you haven't had a formal home inspector come out) and making the builder address any AND all issues, it's a new home, it should be near perfect. Do another walk through with your agent after the inspection and double checking it all. 

If you don't have an agent, for lack of a better term, be a pest and make sure they get those issues taken care of and show them the full formal inspection done, its a NEW house for crying out loud!!

Also to answer your question, I would not back out of the deal because of this or some other minor issue that can be easily fixed, it seems like you have all the financials thought and planned out, continue with it if possible and don't lose it because of that. 

That's a good but tough question to answer. There are a lot of different opinions on if it is even a buyer's market or seller's market. Probably would lean somewhat towards buyer's market but still relatively in the middle. The housing availability is one of the big factors pulling towards a sellers market but there are a lot of new initiatives for new builds within Texas. Rates coming down helps the buyers by allowing more into the market. So my answer would be... yes? Maybe? 

But some nice spots for first-time homebuyers. I have seen areas just south of Austin (Kyle and Buda) or San Antonio. Speaking of the amount of housing, there are things pointing to growth in that sector especially in Texas as more companies move to Texas, but there are many areas of Texas where companies move for different reasons. It is an interesting time obviously with an election and rates coming down and potentially a good amount of inventory being built but as the fall and winter come fewer people who put existing homes on the market which reduces competition for those first-time home buyers. So again I think it's still a hard question to answer but a good conversation to have. But, that's just my opinion, I look forward to hearing about others. 

As it has been said, I would tend to lean towards continuing to rent. Save as much as you can and be frugal so when the year comes around you are more than ready money wise and knowledge wise to house hack. I wouldn't invest in something just to invest because you feel like you have to, its a marathon, not a sprint so I would recommend being patient and waiting to house hack, but be ready when your lease is up so you can jump on a deal as soon as possible. 

But if you really feel like you need to start now, as @Giselle Azcona-Lubbock said, maybe look into subleasing. 

These 2 are unique and have a few different things that make them stand out, a little quirky maybe. 

https://www.vrbo.com/1460776

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1245083629484021710?adults=2&search_mode=regular_search&check_in=2024-10-04&check_out=2024-10-05&source_impression_id=p3_1727635150_P3cSIL37oV190KQk&previous_page_section_name=1000&federated_search_id=217bcec5-e09c-4b28-be99-46c04b71cf6e

I'd try to balance between the two for furniture, it's always a risk of course if you buy something nice it could get ruined but on the other hand you could charge more for the space, there's always a give and take. But you just may have to do more work looking through it all on Facebook. 

To keep up with updates, I follow different Twitter and Facebook posts such as local news reporters and the news channels themselves that update on council meetings and voting. Those will also repost other media sources that link to other updates and happenings in the community. 

Happy to offer insight, but of course we are all still learning and the forums are a good place for that! Creative wise, I would say having a nice interior design, something that’s more than the normal furniture or décor. Maybe something Texas themed or even Waco specific involving the university or the Silos, or a specific theme for the house to name it after. Having more entertainment options at the house like arcade games, ping pong table, etc.

For furniture, think what maybe you have had in the past that you have had a while and maybe try to find that at a discount. Facebook marketplace may be a bit more work but definitely worth exploring and looking up reviews for different brands people are selling.

So, I have not done anything in Waco but from our experience in Bryan/College Station, places near university bus stops and being abreast on what the community is investing in as far as development tend to be better areas and help with appreciation.

Again, I'm not perfect and still trying to navigate the markets and always trying to learn myself!

Hey Kent, great question, but very open ended which is okay but I'll answer in my best opinion. But figuring out your strategy whether its LTR, MTR, or STR I would focus on proximity to the university and other attractions of Waco, as they say... location, location, location, it's still very true.

If you are asking what to look for as in bed/bath ratio, at least a 3/2 would be ideal in my opinion. If you want to do STR, what will make it stand out? There are so many short term places today that competition is tough, so adding something no other property has, being creative in design, something like that to stand out, people want a unique stay, and with a fixer-upper, you can do whatever you want!

For a Mid-term rental, I would say furnishing it with the cheapest but most durable furniture possible because of the frequent turnover. Also, again making your property stand out to be more appealing to those who have to stay for an extended period, how will you make them most comfortable with the possibilities of a fixer-upper?

Long term rentals, I believe are the easiest, especially in a college town. Not just throwing some lipstick on it and calling it good, but instead, what will offer more value to the property to get maximum rent. Again, location is key for this, parents want their kids leaving for college to be safe, what are the best areas of Waco that also have easy access to campus, those are questions to answer to judge profit potential. 

That's just my thoughts, I hope this helped and gets you thinking!