All Forum Posts by: Tatum Littleton

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!

Hey Prince, thank you for the honesty and being open, I think it's good you're seeking some advice here. Of course there are plenty of different opinions so do what will be best for you. I personally would not recommend leaving so quickly... I actually contemplated leaving as well as my start seems similar to yours.

I'm an agent of eXp as well and finding a good mentor was so worth it. I got paired automatically with one (as you know they do at eXp) then they left the brokerage and got I paired with another. Long story short, never talked to either of them other than the introduction and they never reached out to help. So, what I did was contact the mentor team and asked for a list of mentors in my area and I personally interviewed them and met with them to gauge the level of their interest and how much help they would be. I may recommend doing that to help you get going. If you have a mentor already that's working great, I would lean into them more and utilize them as much as possible to get going. I can just speak from my personal experiences. 

Keep working hard and hustling!

Whatever is cheapest and most durable for your market! I get that what you have looked into may take a little longer to install but you do it once with a long time in between replacing (hopefully), in my opinion, that's worth it. If it is that much more expensive, maybe not but if its reasonably a little more, again in my opinion I think it's worth it. 

I also would stay away from carpet, too many opportunities for it to get ruined, try to not let the cheap and easy appeal distract you from the headaches it could cause. 

 Of course, happy to offer different perspectives. I always here good things about Columbus as well as Akron as already mentioned.

Funny enough, I was just in Greensboro a couple of different times this summer and got to talk to some locals and it seems like a promising market. From what I saw from North Carolina, I can see why people like it so much! What Jayme said would lead me to tell you to possibly stay there if you wanted to? Just depends on what you want to do, you have flexibility so that helps you a lot.

Hey Brian, good on you for doing some looking and planning early on and asking questions here. There are so many different opinions and mine is just another one of them, so take it or leave it, the beauty of it all is you can do what you are comfortable with and what will work for you!

So, what would I do? If those numbers are correct for MTR, I would do that as long as you can until it doesn't make sense or you get tired of running it (if you are doing it on your own) and save up as much as you can as you said you plan to do. I understand wanting only cash flow now but I would encourage you to see if doing a house hack and having most of the mortgage paid works for you. We as investors need to be creative in the market right now and maybe doing something we necessarily don't want to do will still set us up for success in the future. 

Also, shiny object syndrome I understand and have a hard time with that as well LOL, but find what is reasonable and actually attainable, those things will come with time, real estate investing is a marathon, not a sprint. For myself, I would find a nice house hack maybe in Ohio, that seems to be all the rage right now, and have most of my expenses covered (your not paying it totally by yourself and can still save money that way). 

But that's my two cents, work hard and have fun doing it. Good luck!

 I 100% agree with this! As well as what Madri Koppe mentioned. Just about everyone only talks about and highlights cash flow and if it doesn't cash flow then it's not good... I would not necessarily agree with that because of what is said above. With house hacking you still may pay for some of the payment but not all which is still great and you can save that money. House hacking is a great way to learn to be a homeowner and a property manager all in one. Of course cash flow is great but not paying for all of the housing expense every month is also great. A good way to look at it, Jana!