New investor playbook
Your first deal, walked through.
Written for first-time Texas investors who have never bought an investment property, and for the ones who bought one and want a process they can repeat. Each stage below pairs the guides our team wrote for these deals with the part of the free marketplace that does the work: live off-market inventory, calculators pre-filled per deal, vetted lenders and contractors, and a human transaction coordinator who runs the closing.
The path
Five stages from first login to first closing.
Read them in order the first time. After that, jump to whichever stage the deal in front of you is stuck on.
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Find a deal
A first deal is mostly an inventory problem: an off-market house priced for an investor, with the numbers in front of you before you ever drive by. Learn how Diamond’s contracts reach the marketplace, what a balanced Texas market changes about buying this quarter, and how remote buyers vet a house they can’t visit.
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How Buying From Diamond Works (For Investors)
The complete investor buy process at Diamond — free portal, in-deal calculators, submitting an offer, single-closing assignment, and a 1–4 week close.
Read guide
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Out-of-State Investing in Texas Real Estate
How out-of-state investors buy Texas off-market deals with confidence: entity setup, verifying a house you can't visit, wire-fraud safety, and closing remotely.
Read guide
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Texas Investment Property Q4 2026: 6 Key Numbers
Texas inventory sits near 5.4 months and prices have softened 13 straight months. What a balanced market changes for flip and rental underwriting in Q4.
Read guide
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Texas investor markets
Where we source deals, metro by metro, and the kind of inventory each market tends to produce.
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Case studies with real numbers
What marketplace investors paid and what they resold for — before-and-after photos included.
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In the marketplace: Live off-market Texas inventory, plus deal alerts that match your buy box the moment a property goes live.
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- 2
Run the numbers
Every first deal lives or dies on underwriting done before the offer, not after. Start with the public offer math (ARV × 75–80% minus repairs), then work a flip and a rental all the way through to what actually lands in your account.
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How to Run the Numbers on Your First Texas Flip (2026)
How to run the numbers on a first Texas flip in 2026: the ARV × 75–80% − repairs formula, a full DFW worked example, and the seven line items beginners miss.
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How to Analyze a Texas Rental Property (2026)
The 1% rule, DSCR, and cash-on-cash for a Texas rental in 2026, plus the five DFW costs (taxes, hail insurance, vacancy, management, capex) that beginners miss.
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Fix-and-Flip vs. Buy-and-Hold in Texas
The same Texas house can be a flip or a rental. How to read one Diamond deal both ways — ARV and the 75–80% buy math, cap rate, DSCR, BRRRR — and self-select.
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In the marketplace: Flip and rental calculators on every deal page, pre-filled with that property’s numbers.
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- 3
Fund it
Most first deals are financed with hard money, a DSCR loan, or a conventional mortgage, and the cost of that capital is a line item, not a footnote. Know what lenders fund, what they expect you to bring, and how a rental refinance works before you submit an offer.
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Texas Hard Money & Flip Financing Cost (2026)
What capital actually costs on a Texas flip in 2026: hard-money rates, points, LTC vs. ARV caps, rehab draws, the DSCR/BRRRR refi exit, and the all-in math.
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DSCR: how rental lenders size the loan
The DSCR section — how rental lenders size a loan to the property’s income, and the coverage ratio they expect to see.
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In the marketplace: Vetted hard-money, DSCR, and conventional lenders who already know how Diamond deals close.
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Budget the rehab
The rehab budget is where first flips go sideways: a missed line item, an optimistic bid, no contingency. Build the budget line by line with DFW cost ranges, then hold a real contingency so one surprise doesn’t eat the margin.
Cost references
Written for sellers deciding whether to repair or sell as-is — the same DFW repair numbers investors underwrite.
In the marketplace: A rehab calculator on every deal, plus a vetted contractor network.
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Close and exit
Closing is a single assignment at a Texas title company — one set of closing costs, with a transaction coordinator keeping inspection windows and lender deadlines on track. Decide the exit (sell, hold, or refinance) before you close, because it changes how you rehab and how you finance.
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How a Diamond closing runs, offer to keys
The closing section — what happens between an accepted offer and keys, and the 1–4 week timeline most deals run on.
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Why the Title Company Matters: Inside Our Closings With Fidelity National Title
What a Texas title company actually does, why every Diamond closing runs through Fidelity National Title, and how to verify any escrow officer with TDI.
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Flip or hold: making the exit call before you close
The exit decision — reading one deal as a flip and as a hold, and choosing before you close rather than after.
Read guide
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How closed assignments played out
Closed assignments, start to finish — purchase price, resale price, and the photos in between.
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In the marketplace: A human transaction coordinator and a single-closing assignment at a Texas title company — no double closings.
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More for investors
What a wholesale JV actually is in Texas — the agreement, the split, §1101.0045 disclosure, assignment vs. double close at title, and the red flags to avoid.
A wholesale contract you can't assign and a close date bearing down: the three real exits, how Texas dispo partners underwrite, and how to vet one first.
Funded contracts, disclosed assignments, and a single closing — what separates a principal buyer from a wholesaler.
First-deal FAQ
What first-time investors ask before they start
Do I need a real estate license to buy a deal from the marketplace?
No. You are buying an investment property for your own account, which does not require a license in Texas. Diamond is not a brokerage and does not act as anyone’s agent: we contract directly with the seller as the buyer, then assign that contract to you. You take title at a Texas title company at closing, the same way any cash or financed buyer would.
How much money do I need for a first deal?
It depends on the deal and the lender, so treat this as the shape of the number rather than a figure. Hard-money lenders commonly fund most of the purchase price and much of the rehab, so plan on bringing a down payment in the range of 10–20% of the purchase price, plus lender points and closing costs, a rehab contingency of 10–15% of the budget, and enough reserve to carry taxes, insurance, utilities, and loan interest for the months you own the house. The numbers guide and financing guide above walk through each line, and the calculators on every deal page run the math for that specific property.
Should my first deal be a flip or a rental?
Honest answer: it depends on your capital, your time, and how long you can leave money in a deal. A flip returns capital faster but carries short-term capital gains and a resale that has to happen on schedule. A rental needs a loan that covers the payment (DSCR), reserves for vacancy and repairs, and patience. The fix-and-flip vs. buy-and-hold guide reads one deal both ways so you can see which math you actually like before you commit.
Can I buy my first Texas deal from out of state?
Yes. Many marketplace investors buy from outside Texas, and remote closing through the title company is routine. The out-of-state guide covers entity setup, verifying a house you cannot visit, wire-fraud safety, and who to put on the ground. The contractor and lender networks in the marketplace are the same ones local investors use.
Is the marketplace really free?
Yes. There is no membership fee, no subscription, no exclusivity clause, and no fee to read these guides or run the calculators. Diamond earns the spread between its contract price and the assignment price, paid through the title company at closing. You pay for the property itself, on closing day, and nothing before that.
Start with a free account.
Live Texas inventory, calculators pre-filled per deal, vetted lenders and contractors, and a human who runs the closing. No membership fees.