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Monthly Archives: August 2018

We Want To Buy in Rockdale

Man speaking in front of a Rotary club flag.

Jim Kyle, Vice President of Bitmain Business Development, explains the Bitmain plan at the Rockdale Rotary Club.
Photo by Steve Young


Seriously, we want to buy a few houses in Rockdale, Texas, an area we’ve previously been avoiding because of negative appreciation. It’s a town the same size as Cameron, and it’s also in Milam County.

You’ve probably heard myths like “Real estate always appreciates.” This statement is technically true. But real estate can experience both positive appreciation (going up in value) and negative appreciation (going down in value). After all residences in Petra—not to mention Detroit—aren’t worth what they used to be.

You’ve also heard you should buy land because “they’re not making any more of it”—except in Hawaii and a few other places. But unless you’re a farmer or rancher, you can’t make raw rural land pay for itself. Unless you have a development plan, and we’re not in the development game.

So why are we suddenly interested in Rockdale? Continue reading →

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Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone

Gray socks

I went wild this weekend and bought several pair of patterned socks. A helpful sign told me they were “lucky.”

We’ve talked before about how success—however you define it—sometimes requires you to step out of your comfort zone. By definition, your comfort zone is a place where you feel comfortable and relatively stress free. But improvement requires change, and change involves stress. Without stress—without stepping out of your comfort zone—you can’t direct change and, therefore, improvement or success.

Not all those changes, those steps outside your comfort zone, have to be huge. Some can be tentative. Some can be small. Some can even be silly—whatever it takes to get you used to the idea of change. Continue reading →

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Pigs with Lipstick? Not Our Pigs.

It’s what’s on the inside that counts!

The “pigs” here being houses

I talked to someone a couple of weeks ago who knows some other “house flippers” in this business. That conversation has really been churning over and over in my head. The premise of the conversation was that we at Hermit Haus spend way too much money rehabbing the houses that we buy and how that cuts into our profits. Our houses are really expensive, and we could sell them cheaper and faster if we just did it the way their friends do it. The flippers they know will go in, paint, and add some stainless steel appliances for an updated look. Then the house goes on the market “as-is” or as a rental that is just never quite right. I see that as a problem for obvious reasons, but that also goes against our core values as a company. 

Why is it an issue?

I know someone who lives in a flipped house. They rent it (thankfully) and have had nothing but headaches since they signed the lease. The drains always run slow; the HVAC has to have work done on it every year in summer and winter, because it quits working; the roof leaks; a ceiling has had to be replaced; the windows are painted shut…the list goes on and on. But the house sure is pretty!

That is a prime example of lipstick on the pig. The landlord is just lucky that the people I know actually care about the house. If a landlord doesn’t care about the house, why should the tenants? If everything is always breaking in the house, why should the tenants bother to make rent on time, or even report problems? Then the landlord is shocked when the house is trashed, or they have to evict for non payment. This of course isn’t always the case. Sometimes people just trash houses and don’t pay. However, keeping a nice, safe house that is priced accordingly will draw the right people and eliminate a lot of the chances for bounce tenants (tenants who move a lot) to crash our house next.

Yes, we experience some profit loss up front because we WILL fix that roof before anyone moves in. We also experience tenants who see that we will fix problems and are more likely to pay a little extra for a house that is very nice and well kept. Our experience has proven that there is a person who is willing to pay a little bit extra for a nice and safe place for family. They also pay on time, and report even the little stuff so we can fix it before it is a big expense. Some tenants have even covered the small problems themselves. They are not required to do that, but it is part of our relationship.

Continue reading →

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A Near Miss on a Hoarder House

It doesn’t look so bad on the outside.

I saw an HONEST TO GOD HOARDER HOUSE this week. I’d raced out of the house for an early meeting with a client, totally failing to bring my boots. Yes, it’s August in Austin, Tx and I was wearing open-toe sandals.

My next appointment of the day was with the relative of the owner of the house in question. Sadly, the owner had been rushed to the hospital earlier in the week and according to this fellow, he’s been diagnosed with brain cancer. So he was quite unavailable.

About the House

The home is a 1-story, and its lot is the largest in the cu-de-sac. I was excited at the prospect of finding my next rehab. I’ve been investing in real estate for about 15-years now, and my favorites are homes which have double side gates and room for a great workshop out back, or the addition of an additional dwelling unit in the backyard. This home fit the bill.

The man I met was son-in-law to the owner and he was horrified to find the home in the state that it was. Apparently, it had been a long time since they’d come to visit, and the mental health issues his relative was dealing with hadn’t been apparent. They live in Arkansas on 23-acres. The property apparently, keeps them very busy.

Continue reading →

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Let There Be Light at Rattlesnake!

That big hole is where someday the a/c unit will live. If it has a sleeve.

Hi everyone! This post is a collaboration between me and Mandi. That let us hang out a bit before I go to scenic Irving, Texas to hang out with people from my previous career.

Anyway, Chris and Garry were busy this week and got all the light fixtures installed, and they are getting ready for the air conditioner installation. We are really happy to see the lights, because they make it look more like a real house! They make the empty white box look a lot more like a country home! Their rustic qualities will look great with the kitchen cabinets that Mandi and her dad are going to put in.

But whoops, we realize that one of the fixtures we bought is not there. The lovely dining room fixture! The big fan is where it should go. Mandi says Chris was wondering why there was one open fan box. That’s because one fixture didn’t get installed. It’s in the warehouse at the office, along with part of the master bathroom vanity. Those need to get moved.

Uh, back to the rustic stuff. Even the inexpensive doors we put in look nice with all the dark accents. (By the way, Mandi WILL replace the doors once those darn kids are older and less destructive.)

Continue reading →

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