Anyone in real estate investment?

[War Machine]

Deals are HARD to find right now. Gotta have feelers out everywhere (like War). I got a line on a house in east Plano recently, but it went to a realtor before I could talk to the family that was handling the estate. If you can get to people (family) selling an estate property, they like quick cash deals. Got my first rental that way. I bet I have 250k equity in it right now.
That said the rental market is crazy hot too. IMHO, the real money is the rentals. Check references REALLY good, charge a fair rent and modest increases. Let it cash flow, add to the inventory. I know a guy that has about 100 rent houses. He collects checks and manages his rentals...
You can always watch a "Flip or Flop" marathon and learn what NOT to do. I swear, the stuff those people do makes no sense. Buying houses unseen and not inspected. I wonder just what the REAL numbers are on their deals.

Anything under 300k near Plano, Richardson is impossible. We don't even bother.

[dcs13]

Anything under 300k near Plano, Richardson is impossible. We don't even bother.

What's your target areas if you don't mind me asking.

I'm looking in Plano and North to Anna along 75.

[War Machine]

What's your target areas if you don't mind me asking.

I'm looking in Plano and North to Anna along 75.

North East Dallas, Lake Highlands, lakewood, lower Greenville, etc

[beefed88]

obviously I dont have any real estate but reading on the forums, people are looking for a 10%+ return and use that as a guideline to buy or not.

That is about my average.


Black2002ls, I use the rentals to diversify my portfolio. I recommend maxing out 401k contributions and Roth IRA then worry about rental properties. Possibly really focus on paying off your primary home and using that equity to be able to find your first good deals with that cash. It will start snowballing once you get one house paid off and cash flow from the next.

[black2002ls]

I pay 5k for finders fees. I'll give you the neighborhoods I want to buy in, you find me a house I'll pay at closing.

Easiest way to flip homes and make money with no investment

North East Dallas, Lake Highlands, lakewood, lower Greenville, etc

If I were closer to that area, I would be interested in helping out. I am East, I work in Forney and live in Greenville.

That is about my average.


Black2002ls, I use the rentals to diversify my portfolio. I recommend maxing out 401k contributions and Roth IRA then worry about rental properties. Possibly really focus on paying off your primary home and using that equity to be able to find your first good deals with that cash. It will start snowballing once you get one house paid off and cash flow from the next.

I know the maxing 401k and IRA is the smart play. I have missed out on 2 solid rentals/flips in the past 18 months and may end up missing out on a 3rd. The house behind me sold as an REO for 40k and the guy sold it for $127. I figure he put ~$40-50k in the rehab.

We have a family friend looking to sell their rental in the next few months. I haven't seen the inside yet. Location is good and price seems about right.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[slow99]

I recommend maxing out 401k contributions and Roth IRA then worry about rental properties.

I completely agree with your sentiment on this - just saying that I've never known anyone who maxes out 401k contribution and still qualifies for a ROTH IRA ... a traditional you bet.

[War Machine]

If I were closer to that area, I would be interested in helping out. I am East, I work in Forney and live in Greenville.



I know the maxing 401k and IRA is the smart play. I have missed out on 2 solid rentals/flips in the past 18 months and may end up missing out on a 3rd. The house behind me sold as an REO for 40k and the guy sold it for $127. I figure he put ~$40-50k in the rehab.

We have a family friend looking to sell their rental in the next few months. I haven't seen the inside yet. Location is good and price seems about right.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

If you have any questions or need contacts shoot me a pm

[beefed88]

I completely agree with your sentiment on this - just saying that I've never known anyone who maxes out 401k contribution and still qualifies for a ROTH IRA ... a traditional you bet.

The income limit for Roth is $116k. Are you saying that people that make that or less do not max out 401k and Roth?

[slow99]

The income limit for Roth is $116k. Are you saying that people that make that or less do not max out 401k and Roth?

I'm saying I've never met anyone who contributes $23,000 a year (401k max + ira max) to retirement accounts that would qualify for a Roth. Granted, I work with mostly guys who are primary/sole breadwinners.

[UltraHot85Iroc-Z]

Tenants screwed my old house up. I charged them a deposit equal to 1 month's rent ($1000), but they never cleaned the carpet and the cost to replace the carpet is $1200. Plus the other stuff I need to repair such as broken window blinds, ceiling fan in the living room no longer works, and the tenant set a hot pan down on the kitchen countertop and the formica has a burned ring in it and needs to be replaced. Is it worth me taking them to small claims court and can I recover some of this cost back??? I don't know what to do.

[David]

Tenants screwed my old house up. I charged them a deposit equal to 1 month's rent ($1000), but they never cleaned the carpet and the cost to replace the carpet is $1200. Plus the other stuff I need to repair such as broken window blinds, ceiling fan in the living room no longer works, and the tenant set a hot pan down on the kitchen countertop and the formica has a burned ring in it and needs to be replaced. Is it worth me taking them to small claims court and can I recover some of this cost back??? I don't know what to do.

How long were they in there?

At the end of the day, you'll still probably never get your money even with a judgment.

[UltraHot85Iroc-Z]

How long were they in there?

At the end of the day, you'll still probably never get your money even with a judgment.

They were there for 3 years. For the most part they paid on time. The house has a mortgage on it so my cash flow is on the low end when you factor in repairs. Not to sound dumb, but why wouldn't I get my money with a judgement? When one of your tenants does something like this, what do you do?

[beefed88]

They were there for 3 years. For the most part they paid on time. The house has a mortgage on it so my cash flow is on the low end when you factor in repairs. Not to sound dumb, but why wouldn't I get my money with a judgement? When one of your tenants does something like this, what do you do?

Not to be rude, but it doesn't sound like you should be in the rental property game.

[UltraHot85Iroc-Z]

Not to be rude, but it doesn't sound like you should be in the rental property game.

Maybe. I thought I did everything right though. I find it hard to believe that even the best landlords haven't run into bad tenants before. Right?

[Cooter]

Maybe. I thought I did everything right though. I find it hard to believe that even the best landlords haven't run into bad tenants before. Right?

oh no, not the formica!!!!!

cheap counter tops are cheap. we used to get formica counter tops from a place in Garland for like $30/ft. That's linear feet, not square. That's framed out and finished, ready to install. Average kitchen was maybe $500?

so you're going to spend a few grand to get the house ready to rent again...

Ok, bump the rent to $1,300 or whatever, and bring in another $47,000 over the next three years to compliment the $36,000 you brought in over the past 3yrs.

"bad tenants" are the ones who completely destroy you house... cause tens of thousands of dollars in damage... don't pay rent to the point that you have to go through an eviction process...

while it doesn't sound like you had IDEAL tenants, I wouldn't say a few grand in repairs (minus the $1,000 deposit) is really that bad for a 3yr lease.

a ceiling fan?!? if you need someone to spot you the $200, LMK