House Flippers in Texas (San Antonio, Austin: brokers, lawyers, houses)

[H'ton]

Any house flippers here in Texas?


If so, what are the pros and cons and what advice would you have for someone starting out?

[Curly Q. Bobalink]

Buy Low, Sell High

[C24L]

Its easy to lose your shirt because of the "greater fool theory".Buy low sell high is not as simple or easy in practice as it sounds.One big con is that taxes are higher for short term capital gains.

[Kthnry]

House flippers are like cockroaches in San Antonio. I live in a scruffy but improving area near downtown and I get a postcard, letter, call, or text offering to buy my house almost every day. They even go door-to-door. I'm not exaggerating. You're too late to the party, especially given the recent shortages of lumber and other building materials. You might end up paying months of carrying costs on a property that you can't sell because flooring or cabinets are backordered for six months.

We may have more flippers in San Antonio than other Texas cities because the barrier to entry is lower. For example, my house would sell for about $250,000 but an equivalent house in Austin (condition and proximity to downtown) would sell for twice that. But prices have skyrocketed in the last few years.

[Curly Q. Bobalink]

Originally Posted by C24L

Its easy to lose your shirt because of the "greater fool theory".Buy low sell high is not as simple or easy in practice as it sounds.One big con is that taxes are higher for short term capital gains.

Yeah, I know squadoosh about flipping homes in Texas, I was making a funny and breaking the ice for the OP. But obviously, flipping homes in Texas is going to be an easier process than flipping in states where there isn't a big influx of people.

The OP didn't say whether they were simply looking to buy, hold, and resell (not something I'd do, the bank, municipality, brokers, and lawyers would eat up much of any gain), or whether they were going to buy distressed properties, fix them up, and then resell them - to me, that's more realistic, since you're actually adding value to the process. And it's hard to give an answer to without knowing the OP's capabilities and experience. Paint and landscaping is a different animal than remodeling washrooms, etc..

[mojo101]

Austin has IT,what does San Anthonio have?hospitals !

[Kthnry]

Originally Posted by mojo101

Austin has IT,what does San Anthonio have?hospitals !

Yet San Antonio has the second-highest population growth in the country, according to the census. Higher even than Austin. Go figure.

https://www.expressnews.com/news/loc...d-15284669.php

[C24L]

Originally Posted by Curly Q. Bobalink

Yeah, I know squadoosh about flipping homes in Texas, I was making a funny and breaking the ice for the OP. But obviously, flipping homes in Texas is going to be an easier process than flipping in states where there isn't a big influx of people.

The OP didn't say whether they were simply looking to buy, hold, and resell (not something I'd do, the bank, municipality, brokers, and lawyers would eat up much of any gain), or whether they were going to buy distressed properties, fix them up, and then resell them - to me, that's more realistic, since you're actually adding value to the process. And it's hard to give an answer to without knowing the OP's capabilities and experience. Paint and landscaping is a different animal than remodeling washrooms, etc..

Oh okay.Ya your right that buying and reselling homes for a profit is going to be easier here in the Lone Star State than in some other areas.

[jackalope48]

Starting out buy a house, live in it, fix it up then sell it after living in it for two years. That has the advantage of giving you lower capital costs(you can use a traditional mortgage), lowers your expenses (homestead for property taxes and you are living there), and when you sell you have a 250k(single) or 500k(married) cap gains tax free. I know a guy who moves every two years and just "flips" the single house he lives in and has a normal job. I also know a subdivision developer that always moves into the first house in subdivision for the exact same reason.

[C24L]

Originally Posted by jackalope48

Starting out buy a house, live in it, fix it up then sell it after living in it for two years. That has the advantage of giving you lower capital costs(you can use a traditional mortgage), lowers your expenses (homestead for property taxes and you are living there), and when you sell you have a 250k(single) or 500k(married) cap gains tax free. I know a guy who moves every two years and just "flips" the single house he lives in and has a normal job. I also know a subdivision developer that always moves into the first house in subdivision for the exact same reason.

Thats good advice that could work for the OP.I also know someone who moves houses frequently so he can flip it into the next house.