Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel and James Allen.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
In 2008 I started in Real Estate investing when I moved back to New Orleans from Houston and had to rent out my home for the first time. I’ve always been interested in the idea of “passive income” so renting vs selling made sense to me, especially in a market that was spiraling out of control with the Real Estate bubble that was occurring at the time.
Upon moving back to New Orleans I got involved in house flipping and buying and holding rental properties all while holding a full-time job. I then decided to get my Real Estate license in Louisiana. In 2009 I met James and in 2014 we were married. His job brought us back to Houston and with the move, I decided to do Real Estate full time as a licensed agent. Over the last 3 years, I’ve helped many of my clients to start building rental portfolios. Just this year, my husband and I decided that we wanted to do the same, so we created Southern House Buyers.
We are a Real Estate Investment Company. What do we do? We buy houses. What kind of houses? Any house that someone will sell to me for a price that makes sense for our business model. We buy houses that are in bad condition if the numbers work. We don’t buy at “retail” prices because there needs to be a profit margin. We’ve been able to help many of our customers get out of troublesome real estate situations. Once we buy the houses we either flip, hold and rent or wholesale the home to another investor. We’re just getting started and hope that 2018 will be a breakout year for Southern House Buyers.
Has it been a smooth road?
In our first year of operation 2017, we are learning the ups and downs of starting a business. In the beginning, you’re spending a lot of dollars but don’t necessarily see the return right away. One thing that we’ve learned is that consistency is key. You have to keep moving forward even if you are getting the response you initially expected.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Southern House Buyers is a family business. It’s operated by myself, my husband (James Allen), and though he doesn’t do much other than playing a part in our marketing, our 18-month-old son (James Allen II). We are BBB accredited and ultimately, we want to run a profitable business but also help people along the way when we can.
It’s important for us to be able to create win-win scenarios for the customers we speak with about buying their home. If we can’t create win-win, we don’t buy the house. We do our best to educate our clients on what happens in the real estate transaction. There are no hidden charges. Although we will buy a home almost anywhere for the right price, we focus on the Energy Corridor area.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Houston is a really great city for this type of business. Real Estate is affordable and there’s no shortage of it. In kind, Houston is a fast growing city which is what makes this business work. Once we fix up a house, we need end buyers and renters.
The Houston economy, despite the downturn in oil and gas, is still booming because Houston has so much to offer. With the recent events of Hurricane Harvey, this is providing an unprecedented opportunity to help those who are wanting to sell their flooded property. So many homeowners who did not have flood insurance were impacted by the Harvey flooding. And yes, we do buy flooded homes.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.southernhousebuyershtx.com
- Phone: 713-498-6613
- Email: info@shbhtx.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/webuyhoustonhomes/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/southernhousebuyers/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SHBHTX
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