All Forum Posts by: Leigh Ann Smith

@Denise Warner, my husband and I would like to invest in Houston SFR's, and we're still actively looking, but it's pretty hard to find a deal when you're competing with multiple investors for every one. Most of the properties I've found that look like good deals are in flood zone A or AE. We are buy and hold investors, so we won't touch those.

We make a spreadsheet for every property we're interested in, then calculate our max "all in" amount that will give us the rate of return we are seeking.  The numbers don't lie, and we won't offer more than the top purchase price we've calculated with the spreadsheet.

So, we are looking, but we are also waiting.

Interesting article in Forbes today: "The U.S. Cities With the Most Undervalued (and Overvalued Housing".

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erincarlyle/2015/06/08/americas-most-overvalued-and-undervalued-housing-markets-in-2015/2/

Have you started listening to the BiggerPockets podcasts, Martha?  A lot of the guests recommend against purchasing townhomes/condos due to the home owners associations.  They can raise the maintenance fees anytime the board votes to do so, which makes them somewhat risky. Some associations also have limitations on whether the units may be used as rentals or on what % of units in the complex can be used as rentals.

If you do decide to look into townhomes, find out what specifically is covered by the maintenance fee. If they say "insurance", you need to know what kind of insurance. Basic homeowners? Flood? Liability? If they say "roof", who decides when a new one is needed? Ask to see the HOA agreement so that you can read the fine print.

If @Tristan Cortez's capex  numbers are good, how much should he set aside additionally for maintenance?

@Phil Monkhouse, to do the @ thing, start typing the person's name after the @ like you did.  After you've typed 4-5 characters, look down below the box you're typing in, and you'll see the person's name pop up. Click on it, and they'll be tagged.  

You can only tag people who have already posted in that topic or who are your colleagues.

Another networking resource is a Facebook Group called Houston Area Real Estate Investors.  It's a pretty active group and there are often deals posted.  You have to be careful, though.  I contacted a guy about a property that he posted there, and it turns out that he was not the one who had it under contract.  He wanted to get a finder's fee for bringing a buyer to the wholesaler who did get the contract.  

Welcome in advance to Texas, @Phil Monkhouse!  Have you heard of City-data.com?  They have lots of demographic data that is helpful in evaluating an area.

Lake Olympia  http://www.city-data.com/zips/77479.html

Sienna Plantation http://www.city-data.com/zips/77459.html

1)  Before all these nice housing developments moved in, Missouri City was a somewhat low income area.  If you look at home prices on Zillow, you'll see that the homes north of Hwy 6 and east of the Ft. Bend Parkway are much less expensive.  My guess is that parts of Sienna Plantation are zoned to the same schools as the homes in the older part of Missouri City.  I don't know that for a fact, but I do know there are lower income neighborhoods that are near the more upscale ones in Missouri City, so that may be what's going on with some of the schools.  Most of Missouri City is very nice, though.

It's not that the schools in the lower income areas are not funded at the same amount per student as other schools in the district, but kids growing up in poverty sometimes have stuff going on in their lives that can affect how well they do in school, and there is often a higher incidence of violence, drugs, etc. in those schools.  If the kids score poorly on state tests, the school will receive a lower ranking.  Generally, lower school scores mean there are more low income students attending that school.

2)  On average, I believe you'll pay about $12K per year for private school.

3)  Yes, people will pay more to live in areas with better schools if they can afford to do that.  This is something that real estate investors must consider when evaluating properties. When you are looking at potential homes, you should look at the particular schools to which that home is zoned.

4) Good schools can go down, and bad schools can come up.  In general that will be directly tied to what is going on in the community.  If a community is growing and new housing developments are coming in, I'd expect the schools to get better, too.

All that said, you might want to also consider Sugar Land, which borders Missouri City.  Median household income in Missouri City in 2012 was $84K and in Sugar Land it was $113K.  You still need to check the data on the individual schools, though.

Welcome to BP, @Kamlesh Thakkar!

Have you heard about the BiggerPockets podcasts?  There are about 130 podcasts and each one is an interview with a real estate investor sharing his or her experiences in the real estate industry.  Start with Podcast #1 and listen to each one.  You will learn SO much!  

You can find the first podcast here:  http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/category/podcast/page/9/

You should also read the Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Real Estate Investing.  It's free, and you can read it here:  http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing

I'd be interested in hearing a guest discuss investing in RV parks on the podcast.  In the Houston area (not a vacation destination), most of these appear to have long term residents living in them, more like a mobile home park.  There is one going in near my house that probably has 50 or more hook-ups.  I personally know of one young man who is living in an RV that his parents bought because he has an eviction and can't get an apartment, so this could be a growing trend.

I have heard that some parks have a bathroom with showers and a laundromat.  A quick search online showed that many seemed to include water, electricity, and even Internet in the site rental.  Some also included cable TV.

Some questions I have:

How does eviction work if the resident doesn't pay their site rental or if they are creating trouble (loud music, etc.)?

Do you screen guests?

What amenities are expected to be provided?

Should water and electric be included in the monthly/weekly/daily rental?

Can the park be operated without having a manned office open during normal work hours?

How/where do the RV's dump their waste?

If the park isn't on city water/sewer, is that just a bad idea?  Land sure is less expensive in rural areas!

What costs are involved with building a park from scratch?

What should you look for in an existing park you are considering purchasing?

Great link, @Ariel Cohen!  Okay, here's an example from that map.  Will flood insurance be required for this house?