Invest in Memphis or Buy my own Home in Denver?

[Jonah Dias]

Hey BiggerPockets,

I’m in the beginning stages of making a decision on buying my first home. I’ve been deciding between buying a rental property in Memphis, TN or buying my own home in the Denver area. I have recently spoke to a mortgage consultant and I got some rough numbers.

Memphis:

The mortgage guy said for an investment property in Memphis I would probably get approved for 200k at 5.87% interest with 15% down. I may be able to get a SFH in Memphis for around 50-65k and have it rented out for about $750+ a month (correct me if I'm wrong). And who knows, if the first property turns out good I could probably get another one.

Denver:

Then he also brought up “why not buy a place in Denver, I could probably get you approved for 350K with a 3% down payment”. I would love to buy my own home, but it really ties up all of my money and it would probably be a real stretch to buy an investment property in the future. Based on the SFHs I see in the Denver area - I’m looking at a least 300K or more. I’m not too sure how long the Denver market will stay up, I would be banking on appreciation. Hopefully the market continues to rise and I can cash out in a few years.

Currently I’m renting and I don’t mind it but I eventually want to make a move towards one of my options. What do you think? Would you buy an investment property out of state or an owner occupant home in Denver?

Thanks,

Jonah