All Forum Posts by: Will Pritchett

I assume you are not in Bakersfield anymore?  I am in Helotes but I don't know of any groups there yet.  We invest in San Antonio.  I'd be curious if anyone else here is from Helotes.

@Heather H. gave some great insights.  It sounds like she has researched our market quite thoroughly; better than some of us that live here!  She is right about some of the Southside areas that can cash flow nicely but don't see the appreciation.  I think deciding which is more important to you is a good thing to do anyway.  But at that price point, you are probably looking for cash-flowing rentals.  We do the same.  We prefer to buy in areas without HOAs and love working class neighborhoods.  What Heather said in regards to illegal multi-units is spot-on as well.

@NIc Green I have brrrr’d a lot of SFRs but not as many multis. I think most of what you will find will be older homes that have been split up. If properly renovated, it’s not a problem.

The neighborhoods change a lot in that area from block to block and I would recommend familiarizing yourself with the area to be fully aware of the class of property and neighborhood you are buying. Maybe do some google earth “drives” through areas you like.

I don’t feel like SA has as many small multis as some cities. At least in terms of structures originally built as 3 - 4 plexes.

It’s not my area of expertise but hopefully some of the downtown and east side experts will chime in here.

Best of luck.

@Hassan Oukacha we do collect the application fee on the spot. We have a card reader for our phone for those without cash. Works out great.

We do paper applications for that reason. We still have to enter the fields online for screening but they tend to complete a paper application on the spot.

Hope that helps.

@Cole Burley, I wouldn't worry about appreciation as much as cash flow. The way I see rentals is that my goal is cash flow with any appreciation being icing on the cake. House hacking in Houston would also contribute to minimizing the cash flow OUT of your pocket for Air BnB's etc right now. I'm not sure what loans are available for second homes or if you'd qualify for FHA etc. being that it's a part time home. I'd ask some lenders. You might find you can do a low down payment loan. That would be awesome and then you could spend some money to furnish the whole thing and make some money on it. Or live for free while you are there and build equity in a property.

Everyone I talk to is struggling finding rentals anywhere near Austin but I can't speak from personal experience.  

That's just one perspective. You might start with this and then go south from Austin to find an affordable rental to try to BRRRR closer to God's Country...I mean, San Antonio.

Just kidding.  Best of luck with your decision.

Welcome @Jason Brock.  My buddy @David Pere has some great content at Military to Millionaire.  He also does a podcast that you may relate to with a military focus.  Best of luck reaching all of your goals.  You came to the right place.

@Michael M. I am glad that was helpful.  We always attempt to be at a fair price with a very clean unit so that we have several tenants to pick from.  Picking the best tenants has made property (read "tenant") management an easy task.  I really like having one month where all leases expire - especially in the summer.  Most of our rentals are from 950-1250 per month fyi.  

One other tip, and might be difficult with a PM, is that we list a week ahead of when we intend to show it.  We put it on Zillow Rental Manager and FB.  Then we do a mass showing at one set time so we aren't spending the whole day there and waiting for no-shows.  Multiple interested potential applicants tends to motivate them to fill out the application on the spot.  There's something psychological about them knowing someone else wants what they want that encourages action on their part.

I hope you have multi-year tenants and don't have to think about this for a while unless it's with new units!

-Will

@Michael M. I have a few in the NW area. They have all rented quickly for the last several years. I just don't see rents dropping or vacancies increasing anytime soon. Keep in mind that Zillow doesn't take into account all of the mom and pop investors who don't list their properties online. We call all of the signs in yards to get a complete story. Difficult to do from afar, I realize. But sometimes we get more for rent than MLS comps would indicate without figuring in yard sign comps.

Most of our tenants stay for several years so we haven't had to re-rent any lately.  I don't target rentals above 1300 because in my experience, they were temporary renters at that income level who would move to buy or build or relocate again pretty soon.  My highest priced rental in Braun Station attracted great tenants but turned over almost every year.  We sold and repositioned.  

We try to have all leases lapse in the summer months while kids are out of school and people are moving.  Even if we acquire in December, it will be a six month lease or an 18 month lease.  This has kept vacancies very short.  I'm curious if you've seen these longer vacancies through summer or if it is just since kids are back in school.  

To answer the last part of your question, I don't know about higher rents in coming years.  I don't count on them.  With our high property taxes, however, without some rent increases taxes could eventually consume cash flow.  I don't see wage growth to be significant in San Antonio but I think this makes buying a home in this appreciating market more and more difficult; thus putting more demand on rentals.  

I hope this helps some.

Best of luck

I have a great agent I can recommend.  He carries American National insurance but can insure with other carriers when they don't meet AN's underwriting characteristics.  He's an investor too.  I'm not sure if I can plug someone on here so PM me if you'd like his info.

Best of luck,

Will

@Angel Bowers I haven't owned there but it does have quite a reputation.  I know some landlords probably have done fine there.  I don't buy in Sunrise either but I know some investors who do well there and they may not like some of the areas I like.  I don't look for gentrification for rentals as much as stability.  However I missed the memo about Dignowity so maybe I'm jaded. I used to pick up shooting victims on an ambulance over there and looked up one day and it was cool. In general I target cash flow and appreciation is just icing on the cake.  If you can speculate better than me you might get a bonus but it's not my strategy with long-term rentals.  I agree with @Rick Pozos on there being few catalysts for gentrification in that area (that I am aware of).  But don't hold it against me when it's the place to be in a few years.  I warned you that I was terrible at seeing the signs of gentrification.  Good question.

Best of luck!