Rentals, flips and
small multifamily.
The best residential deals in Austin are won on the numbers and the details. Les ran a renovation and resale company here for years, so we know where the profit hides and where it leaks.
- You want your first rental and don't want to overpay for it.
- You're looking for a duplex, triplex or fourplex.
- You flip homes and need someone who can move fast and read a rehab budget.
- You have a 1031 exchange clock running.
- You wonder if your lot can hold a second or third unit.
Five strategies.
One honest read.
Flips
Purchase price, rehab budget, holding costs and a realistic resale number from MLS comps. Les did this for years, so we know how timelines and budgets slip.
Buy-and-hold rentals
Rent comps, taxes, insurance and HOA rules, so the cash flow on paper is the cash flow you get.
Small multifamily
Duplexes to fourplexes. Rent rolls, leases, deferred maintenance and what the next buyer will pay.
Infill and added units
Austin's HOME amendments allow up to three units on many single-family lots. We help you see what a lot could hold before you pay for the potential.
1031 exchanges
Sell and buy on the federal 45 and 180 day timelines, with your CPA and qualified intermediary leading on the tax side.
What we check
on every deal.
Rent comps
Real leases from the MLS, not a rent estimate from a website.
Real costs
Taxes without the seller's homestead exemption, insurance, HOA, MUD or PID.
Condition
Inspection, repair bids and the big items: roof, foundation, HVAC and sewer line.
Exit
What the next buyer will pay, and how long you might wait.
What national advice
leaves out.
Comps are not public
Texas does not require sale prices to be made public, so county records won't tell you what a property actually sold for. Real comps come from the MLS and from people who have been inside the deals. Online estimates are guessing more than they let on.
Property taxes do the heavy lifting
Texas has no state income tax, so property taxes carry a lot of weight. A rental doesn't get the seller's homestead exemption or cap, so your tax bill can look very different from the one on the listing. We estimate it before you offer.
Protest season is real
Values are set each year by the Travis Central Appraisal District and the Williamson Central Appraisal District. You can protest by May 15 or 30 days after your notice is delivered, whichever is later (Texas Tax Code 41.44). We can help pull sales data for your case.
MUDs and PIDs
Many newer neighborhoods around Austin sit inside a Municipal Utility District or a Public Improvement District, which add a tax or assessment on top of the city, county and school bills. Texas requires written notices for both (Water Code 49.452 and Property Code 5.014). We read them with you, because they change the math.
Read the HOA documents
Some HOAs set minimum lease terms, cap the number of rentals or ban short-term rentals. The rules live in the deed restrictions and HOA documents, and the TREC HOA addendum gives you time to review them after you receive them. We read them with you early, before you're committed.
Short-term rental limits
Austin requires a license for every short-term rental. Since October 2025, a single-family site can have up to two licensed short-term rental units, with more only at least 1,000 feet apart, and since July 1, 2026, listing platforms must show the license number. Many HOAs restrict leasing or ban short-term rentals outright.
Austin rewrote the rules
The HOME amendments allow up to three units on lots zoned SF-1, SF-2 and SF-3 (effective February 5, 2024) and smaller lots down to 1,800 square feet (effective August 16, 2024). That opened new options for infill and small multifamily, and new questions about what a lot is really worth.
Know the floodplain
Austin uses updated Atlas 14 rainfall data to regulate floodplains, and until new maps are adopted for an area, the city treats today's FEMA 500-year floodplain as its 100-year floodplain. That can affect what you can build, renovate or insure. We check the city's floodplain map before you're under contract.
Supply swings fast
Austin inventory and days on market have moved a lot in a few years. A price that made sense last spring may not this fall. We look at the live numbers for your submarket, not a headline.
The market moves.
We watch it monthly.
Austin inventory has swung a long way in just a few years. Supply, days on market and the gap between list and sold price change what a good offer looks like, so we check them before every recommendation.
Market-wide figures for the City of Austin, refreshed automatically from Unlock MLS, the Austin Board of REALTORS® monthly housing report, with Realtor.com data as backup. Not a valuation of any property.
When I was flipping homes, the deals that hurt were never the ones with a scary inspection. They were the ones where I trusted a number I hadn't checked. A tax bill, a rent estimate, a contractor's timeline.
That's what I want to save you from. Let's check the numbers before your earnest money is on the line.
Les McDaniel | Eterne Real Estate Group, eXp Realty in Central Texas
Can I add units to a lot I already own?+
Maybe. Austin's HOME amendments allow up to three units on many single-family lots, but setbacks, impervious cover, floodplain, deed restrictions and utilities all matter. We'll help you look, and you'll want the city and a design pro to confirm.
Can I run a short-term rental?+
Possibly, with a city license and within Austin's limits, and only if your HOA and deed restrictions allow it. Many don't. We check before you buy.
How do you find rent comps when Texas doesn't publish sale prices?+
Leases and sales that run through the MLS give us real numbers. Experience fills the gaps.
Will you help me sell with tenants in place?+
Yes. We'll review the leases and plan showings that respect your tenants. See our landlord page for more.