All Forum Posts by: Zoabe Hafeez

Hey Guys - I've been doing some BRRR/Flip investing with 9 deals under my belt. One of them went sideways and we pivoted it into a demo and new build in a small town south of Houston. That got me thinking about my real passion in RE which is urban townhomes to contribute my hometown's (Houston) trend of increasing walkability and density. I just read Steve Job's biography and thought, why can't I develop a second income stream and add to the beauty of my home?

My question is: Is this a practical goal for someone who values time and has a full time job?  If someone does this now as a part time gig - how does your 'system' differ from rehabbing old properties?

Thanks everyone!

If you're charging $1500-ish/month for a single family home, is it reasonable to ask equivalent of two months ($3000) for the security deposit?  

I'm finally at that stage of landlord where I'm committed to better rehabs and getting higher quality tenants. My previous tenants would do so much damage at move out, they'd wipe a good portion of the gains I would have gotten. 

Hey Guys - I'm a BRRR guy who's had to sell some properties that I just put too much money into and need to get out to get to the next deal. Problem is, my referral source also is my real estate agent. It's important relationship, but they've had difficulty selling every property. I don't know how much of is it that they're under-rehabbed (for rentals) and how much of is real estate agent skill set. My questions are - in general, how do you tell who a good agent is vs. not vs. it's just a tough property? What are your expectations for a good real estate agent? Do you find a local agent for each property (some of mine are in distant suburbs)?

Thanks for y'alls help

@Khang Pham - Looks like this thread is a few years old, but I'm up for it. I live in Downtown but invest all over the region with 7 BRRR deals under my belt. Hoping to get into more inner loop MFs.

I use Lifestyles Quest which is about $70 a month I think.  It's a lot, but getting good comps is vital.

@Tochi Ajiwe - Sounds like some interesting properties.  It's hard to say which deal is better without real numbers (purchase price, rehab costs, ARVs to start).  As far as appreciation - your guess is as good as anyone else's in terms of which neighborhood is 'hotter'.  In Houston, I'd recommend thinking about appreciation as speculation - nice if it happens, but your deal shouldn't make sense on appreciation alone.  It should cash flow today or have unrealized cap gains today.

One note - 2 baths generally appreciate better than 1 baths for obvious reasons and putting in a second bath isn't cheap.

I've worked with First American Title (Dana Taylor) for multiple SF properties and she's been great.

Does anyone House Hack in the Inner Loop?  My girlfriend and I would love to stay inside the loop and raise kids here, but we also hate the idea of paying for our own mortgage.  What can I say, we've been indoctrinated.  Does anyone do it or know people who do?  We personally are most interested in the Museum District, West U, Braes Heights, or Bellaire as my day job is at TMC but I'd love to hear stories from anyone.

Hey Guys,

Just wanted to get some advice on a house I purchased that ended up being a headache. It's a 4/2/2 in Hitchcock TX that initially looked like a home run BRRR when I purchased it a year ago. Now, I've put in about 56k OOP (after 37k in unexpected foundation, flooring, and misc costs) into the property, have a mortgage of about 105k left and am hoping to sell this for about 155k-159k.  I chalked it up to a loss and expected to lose some significant money on the sale, lick my wounds, and try to come back stronger on the next one.

Now I have an offer for an owner finance with the following: 170k offer. Down payment of 20k (closing costs to be paid out of the down payment). 8.5% interest rate on a 30 year note ($1153 monthly payment) with a refi in 3 years. Of note, my PITI is $971 and it rented for $1350 before my tenants left.

What do you think? The math seems to work that I'd make money back in 3 years, but is it worth it to not have that cash to play with for that duration?  What would you do in that situation?  I have long term goals to 'buy the block' in inner loop Houston which would require significant fundraising regardless of my bank account, but there's still more I don't know than I know in that world.

Ryan - not to derail the thread, but I got two quotes that were similar so I figured it was what it was, but my mentor had the same reaction you did and thinks I played myself.  Live and learn I guess.