All Forum Posts by: Timmy Fritz

Thanks for the data, Bryan. Curious, how this drop in median sales price for the COA lines up historically for this month? Not sure how much can be attributed to seasonality but ~17% drop in prices from May & ~12% MoM seems pretty significant at face value.

Do you see such a large number of expired/withdrawn listings putting a cap on the market in the short term? If the market starts to recover, seems like there's a backlog of inventory built up potentially ready to come back on the market.

Closed sales in Austin continues its trend over the last several months being down anywhere from 20-35% YoY each month. Mortgage rates continue to rise, demand seems very soft (based on closed sales, # of withdrawn listings, & mortgage apps staying at 22yr lows), Austin's price to rent ratio already is one of the highest in the nation, & now there apperars to be this large 'shadow inventory' with sellers who want to sell but aren't able to..

Even with all the headwinds, still feel there aren't many markets with better economic fundamentals. Hope others chime in with their what they're seeing as well.

@Nicolas Thatcher was the Springdale Green project approved by city council today?

Hi Morgan! One thing you can do is ask for the seller to pay your closing costs. Just offer a higher price, have the seller pay CCs and you'll be less out of pocket. Just make sure the seller still nets the same at the end of the day, and I've never had any push back over this.

Had been working with IBC on getting a 2nd lien on my house for a garage conversion. Their 6mo seasoning period was extended to 12 months with lenders tightening up. Any recommendations on any lenders who have similar 'home improvement' loan products to what they had? Haven't had much luck calling around so far.

CLTV - Maximum 90% - We calculate your combined-loan-to-value ratio like this. 1st lien mortgage balance + home improvement loan balance divided by "as-is” appraised value + 75% of contract total.

Thanks!

Getting the process started for converting my garage into finished space on my house hack I bought in November, and I'm looking for recommendations from the BP community for a contractor. Especially someone who has experience in working with the city on pulling permits, since I've been warned by everyone about their reputation. Already have the financing lined up, so its ready to be started as soon as I find a contractor. The project would be in the East Riverside area.

I've had a few guys come out to look at it, but it was like pulling teeth to get a quote back from any of them. Took a few weeks, and seems like a precursor to how they would work on the project. The 1 quote I got back was $98k for the 770sqft conversion. I understand I'm kinda at the mercy of the market here in Austin with how much demand there is for contractors, and seemingly all the good ones are booked. There's also a small 2nd story 1bed 1 bath apartment above the 3 car garage, so it's already been sub-metered and has easy access to electric and plumbing. And I am aware the max you can build is 1100sqft, and I have done all the background work to make sure I have the zoning, meet all the FAR requirements, impervious cover, etc.

Any recommendations on the project in general

For anyone who's done a project like this:

What is the timeline I should expect for getting all of the necessary permits before we're even able to start construction?

Thanks, always appreciate all the feedback from everyone on BP!

Hey Sarah. There are multiple ways you can go about it, and you should reference multiple sources to verify what you find either way. You can start with a combination of Zillow, Trulia, Rentometer, etc. While I wouldn't ever use any of them standalone, they are typically close & used collectively will give you a rough idea. Since you're looking at renting by the room those sources will only give you an idea of what areas are more sought after. You can also call local property managers to ask what they are seeing in certain areas for what you're trying to do. Another way is to find where people are advertising their rooms for rent, and see what they are getting in their areas. There are tons of facebook groups with so many people moving to Austin looking to rent rooms as well as people posting rooms available for rent. Also, Roomi is an app where you can list rooms for rent & connect with people who are looking. I'm sure there are plenty more like resources like those as well. 

This should give you a good base. If you connect with the right property manager who is in touch with the Austin market, and willing to share their insight they will be the most valuable resource to you. They'll be able to tell you everything they're seeing in each area from type of renters, demand, what you can get renting by the room, the quality that renters look for that'll yield the best profit, renting furnished vs unfurnished, etc.

Hey Justin, I know that the lender I'm working with can do this. I can PM you his info if you'd like

@Andrew Postell @Eric Guiltinan Wanted to follow up on this since I noticed this post was initially asked before the new legislation for home equity laws passed. Wasn't sure what impact, if any, it might have on this strategy, or if any new light has come to this.

I close on a property this month, and remembered reading the remark about the "2 kitchens rule" awhile back. Figured I'd do more digging to see how this will affect me when I go to cash out refi in 12 months or so. The property I am closing on is technically a SFH, but has a detached 2nd story garage apartment. Also, is zoned SF-2, so condo-ing them off isn't an option currently.

Would seem backwards if I wouldn't be able to find a lender for a cash-out refi based on it being "2 units", and also wouldn't be able to condo separately because it isn't recognized as 2 units.

Any recommendations here on what strategy to use for the best LTV & rate would be appreciated!

Also, will be calling several banks before closing and will post any information that I find out!

@Stephen Stokes what is Sonora's LTV on cash-outs?

@Jacob Pereira Very understandable... Wasn't here for that so maybe I will end up like that. But it does seem like they are trying to expedite the process on it this time around. Looks like they plan to vote on the code in their December meeting.

@Aidan Mosher Wow thanks! Looks like a lot of really great information. It was tough to figure out what all of the new zoning designations meant exactly, so I'm glad someone did it for me haha