All Forum Posts by: Leigh Ann Smith

Hi @Roger C. , we live near Friendswood.  I have one guy I've used on our personal home, but I'm about to have him do some work for me, so you can't have his name till that's done.  :-)

In the meantime, there are 2 local magazines that are reputable and have handyman ads. Both are in Pearland, which is adjacent to Friendswood.  Maybe they are more expensive because they advertise, but you could check:

http://brownbagvalues.com/feb2015/

http://www.pearlandsbest.com/

Also, a couple of weeks ago we drove by a house we were interested in, and there was someone there working so went up to talk to him. It turns out that he had just purchased the house. He said that he is an investor and also a contractor. I've never used him, so I can't really recommend him, but I will say that he had purchased a house the day before and was in there getting to work on it. His name is Frank Gomez and his card says he is "Owner/Investor" with Galilee Construction & Investments, LLC. His email is [email protected] .

I have also had very good luck using HomeAdvisor.com , so you might try that.

Interesting perspective, @Ned Carey .  I think for business card purposes, this will likely be our strategy, though we might use other more distinguished titles if there is a specific reason to do that. I would expect far more cards to go to prospective sellers and tenants than to anyone I'd want to impress.  

Hi @Toyin Adeola , welcome to BiggerPockets!  This will be your best tool for growing as a real estate investor. You asked for ideas and help.  The best place to start is by reading the free Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Real Estate Investing - http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing

After reading it, asking specific questions on the forums will likely get you answers.  

Before asking a question, use the search box on the upper right of the page to see if you can find discussions on the topic you're interested in.  When newbies ask questions that have been asked and answered lots of times, they often won't get any replies.

Lastly, listen to the podcasts.  They are AMAZING!  Click on "Learn" at the top of the page, then "Podcasts".  Really....you need to do this.

Hi @Gretchen Diercks , there is a group that meets about once a month in the mid-town area. @Charles Nguyen sets them up, so you might want to connect with and follow him so that you'll hear about the meet ups. You can also find them with keyword alerts, but so many of those come through that it's easy for me to miss the announcements!

Hi @Derek Lacy , a couple more questions for you...

I was reading online about using in-state vs. out-of-state insurance agencies and that the out of state ones might not be backed by a guaranty company. That can be a problem if there is a natural disaster causing an excessive number of claims. Would your agency be covered by a guaranty company?  If not, convince me that's not a problem.  :-)

The recreational land use policy is for commercial entities whose business consists of people using their property for recreation.  It's through Texas Farm Bureau, and I believe they're the only agency offering it.  I believe this would include those who have horse operations, u-pick farms, etc.  is there another type of insurance you could recommend for a choose & cut Christmas tree farm?

@Emily Powell , I am looking into this, too. I have heard that most landlords are insured through Texas Fair Plan (run by the State of Texas).  They do not offer landlord liability insurance, so you'd have to purchase that separately, like @Waylon Themer  said. Here is what I found online today:

From texasfairplan.org:

"As a market of last resort, coverage available through the FAIR Plan is not as comprehensive as coverage available through the voluntary market. The FAIR Plan does not compete with the private market and applicants must have two declinations from other insurers in order to obtain coverage with the FAIR Plan. Applicants are not eligible for coverage with the FAIR Plan if they have a current homeowners or other residential property policy, renewal offer, or a binding quote from an authorized insurance company.

Although the FAIR Plan is considered a market of last resort, applications submitted for coverage are subject to underwriting guidelines for characteristics of ownership, condition, occupancy, maintenance, and liability exposure. Properties owned/deeded in the name of a business (corporation, partnership, association, LLP, LLC, etc.) are not eligible for coverage with the FAIR Plan. Vacant/unoccupied properties are also not eligible for coverage with the FAIR Plan."

From a forum:

"As a homeowner there is really not anything to worry about they are a good company. As an agent they need to be turned down 2 times by other companies (as stated above). However, the commissions are very good for the agents so a lot of them want to cheat the system."

From same forum thread:

"We had them for our rental property in Houston since my normal agent (State Farm or Farmers, dont remember which) did not do rental properties.
A few years later the place burned down and TX Fair Plan paid the claim, + rental income loss."

I think it's possible that many insurers don't offer coverage for rental policies, so maybe the agent submits applications to those he knows will decline coverage then legally applies for coverage through Texas Fair Plan.  If anyone here knows how that works, I'd be interested to understand more.

Another thing I read on the Texas Dept of Insurance website is that Fair Plan can't be used for vacant properties, so I don't know how that works when you are rehabbing the property.

Hi @Neda Navidnia , since he's looking for a ranch, I would imagine that he wants property that's already fenced for cattle.  It would for sure need water, and he may also want handling pens.

#askBP

There have been some very good suggestions for podcasts about things related to accounting and other subjects that are difficult to process just by listening.  Perhaps for some of these topics you could post a notes page that could be printed to view as we listen to the podcast.  It could have diagrams, excerpts from spreadsheets, charts, etc.  It could go up on the show notes at the same time the podcast is released.

A video podcast would be another option, though I know that I wouldn't be nearly as likely to watch one as I am to listen, and I'd suspect that others are the same way.

@Kyle Gregg , my husband I are buy and hold investors, so we would use the cards with lenders, sellers, and with potential tenants, among others.

#askBP

Due diligence - What does it mean?  Make sure the title is clear....how do I do that? What are the things that I'd better be certain about before bidding on a house at auction?

Ditto the question in a previous post about buying from wholesalers.

Similar to previous question about use of retirement funds. How to use them to purchase property with a non-traditional IRA. If you do that, can you still manage the property and receive cash flow from it, or does that have to go into the trust?

Older investors vs. younger investors - should they have different strategies?

Tenant screening for lower end properties (rents of $600-700 per month).  Are the standards the same?  If they are, will I be able to find renters?

Starting out, what services do I need from a real estate attorney, and what should I expect to pay for that?