Bruce Lynn

Most investors would not look in these areas or price ranges. Each has their own philosophy, but there are generally ideas that work differently than this. The majority of renters in this area are looking to pay between $1000 and $1100/month. Therefore most investors are looking for homes in the $100,000 to $130,000 price range. Just below the median sales prices in Irving. When you start getting up in the $200-$300,000 range you need much higher rent for the returns to make sense. Typical investor wants about $3000 month rent on a $300,000 home. This just cuts out the majority of the market. Not so many people who can pay $3000/month. This area has likely seen more like 3-4% appreciation not 10% over the past 2-3 years. Tough to know what the future will hold. Condos and townhomes are tough to make work due to high HOA dues. This is a great area to live, but probably not to be a landlord. I'd personally look at Coppell or Valley Ranch if you can find a home or townhome under $150,000. Grapevine and Flower Mound might also be good alternative markets. We're investors ourselves and assist many investor clients, so please call me if you'd like to discuss. - A few hours ago

Check with your title company. It depends on how your home was built and financed and who authorized or contracted for the work. You may also want to call the builder and your sales counselor to get the liens cleared. - A few hours ago

Eva,
What are you trying to accomplish. Most investors or investor groups like Home Vestors are looking to purchase properties at 40%-65% of the repaired value. They'll tell you that on the phone before they come out. They will typically buy homes in any condition that might not otherwise qualify for financing from normal retail buyers. That's one advantage. Another is that they can typically close quickly. The bad news is they buy at a discount from the seller. Let me know if I can assist you. - Yesterday, 20:12

In my opinion you do not want to enclose the garage. Did your realtor run the comps for you both ways? 2/2/2 vs 3/2/2? Does adding the garage make financial sense after running the comps. I would typically agree that 3/2/2 is easier to sell than 2/2/2 as it will appeal to a wider range of buyers. However adding another room to sell the house is probably not my first choice of options. - Yesterday, 06:02

Yes....the bill comes to the owner in December normally and is payable Jan 31 before it becomes late. Normally the builder would give the buyer a credit when they close for the time they owned the lot/home and then your friend is responsible for the taxes when they get the bill. You can verify this on the closing statement they got from the title company. - Thu Jul 24 2008, 15:55