New member in Austin

[Irene Virag]

Hi everyone! I am totally new to real estate investing. I'm mostly just soaking up knowledge right now and haven't done any deals, besides buying our own house that I currently live in with my husband and two young boys (ages 5 and almost 2).

I just want to make sure I'm not crazy for thinking this is a good idea. 

We currently owe almost 100k in student loans and wet have a mortgage of 240k on our house.   I'm looking for a way to get out of debt faster. I'm also looking for a way to secure our retirement and pay college for the boys so they won't have to take out loans like we did. 

I have been looking at estate in the Austin area for years and the values have gone up tremendously. There's no way the numbers could work for us here..? 

We currently have 30k in savings and I'm itching to invest it in something. We also have loads of credit available, including an LOC for 8k and 3 credit cards with 0 balance with limits of 15k.

I have been looking in smaller towns within 1.5 hours of Austin and I found some rehab properties in Waco for 30k. I also found some near Killeen for the same price. 

I know nothing of these areas so I'm not sure if they would be wise investments or not. 

What are the main questions you ask yourself before buying an investment property?

Thanks!