All Forum Posts by: Tristan S.

Hello everybody,

I am about to get my very first mortgage here in Houston, TX. What is the best strategy to get the lowest interest rate possible? I should be getting a classic 20% down for 30 years.

I feel like going from banks to banks is counter productive as they are all going to run my credit which is going to damage it each time. And who knows if they will actually offer the lowest interest they can provide.

Is there a way to get a broker? If yes, how is he getting paid? I would like to know if it's possible to find someone that is unbiased.

Please feel free to recommend me any good broker you had a good experience with here in Houston.

Thanks for your help.

@Daria B. thanks for the feedback, what I meant was that my goal will be to keep buying rental properties. I am not totally aware of the limitations conventional mortgages have. So you mentioned that 10 mortgages is the limit ? Is it different if the mortgage comes from a big name bank versus a more local institution ? What are the pros and cons of choosing one over the other ?

@Account Closed, thanks for the input. I will have to dig more into that. I went to see some properties today, the realtor did not know anything on the subject when I tried to ask. I guess I'll have to do more homework. 

Thanks for all the answers. I really appreciate.

@Account Closed, the only reason we are looking at apartments/town house is because it seems to be the only type of property available for our budget within the area of Houston we are interested in. I am starting to educate myself towards real estate investing but it's my first year after graduation, that's why we are still renting. Would it be a better strategy to just keep renting in a cheaper area (now we pay around 1500$ a month) and invest in a rental property ? 

My current plan was to first buy something to live in to avoid the rent and then start saving in order to buy a second property to rent. Is that a viable option ? I have also heard that financing (mortgages through banks) can be an issue when one decide to keep buying rental properties one after the other. Could you guys comment on that ?

Thanks again.

@Account Closed, thank you for your answer. Yes, we are looking at both condo and townhouse. Do you know if those fees increase over years ? I just wouldn't want to get stuck with a property that is not sellable or rentable (no positive cashflow) down the road.

What is your stance on the year it was built ? Would you stay away from properties built in the 60s, 70s, 80s ?

Hello,

I am currently looking to buy a property in Houston to live in as I am still renting now. Most of the property I could afford have what they call a maintenance fee that varies greatly, can be from 150$ to 600$ depending on the property.

I would like to know what these fees are based upon ? how does it evolve with time and what exactly does it include ?

Would you ever consider a property that had maintenance fees ?

I am saying that because we might end up renting the property down the road, and I feel like it would definitely prevent the property from being lucrative.

Thanks for the help guys.

Hello everybody,

My wife and I moved to houston 8 months ago. I am 25 and I work as a structural engineer in a civil engineering firm.

We are at an important moment because our lease is ending in February 2016 and we are talking about buying something to live in. But we would also like to start investing in real estate. I think the best strategy for us would be to buy, hold and rent.

We have a 110k$ combined income and around 35k$ in cash. We would like to stay in the loop close to midtown or montrose and would love a two bedrooms.

What would be the best strategy? a duplex sounded like a good idea but it seems like there aren't a lot available in Houston. Is it better to try buying two different apartments? One to live in and one to rent.

Is the best strategy to get a 30yr mortgage and let the tenant pay the mortgage or to do anything you can to pay the property off as soon as possible?

I am just starting to educate myself on the real estate investing business and am really interested.

So I am asking to experienced investor out there what they think about my plan, What would you guys do if you were me?

How is houston market? What are the best neighborhood to buy in?

Thank you very much for your help.