Investing in Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex

[Timothy Stolyaroff]

Hello everyone,

I am completely new to real estate investing and have done some research and gained a little understanding. I have a little experience in real estate, I currently manage a 120 acre property not too far from where I live and work a full time corporate job in the pharmaceutical industry. I am a recent college graduate and have saved up some money for a down payment and want to create passive income and diversify my investment portfolio. I live in Portland, Oregon and the real estate here is getting more and more expensive and harder to create decent cashflow from rental properties. I am looking to ultimately create supplemental income via cash flow from rental properties. Texas, DFW specifically, looks attractive in terms of the prices of houses and the cash flow that can be established. I've visited Texas and had a look around so I am slightly familiar with the area now. My question is this. Is DFW and it's surrounding cities a good place to create cash flow through rental properties? It looks like some of these properties are also seeing appreciation. The biggest concern I have is how saturated the market is and whether there is truly a demand for rentals. I was looking at properties in Royse City, and Forney and found some houses that I can get decent cash flow on. Would it be possible to finance the home with an FHA loan, live in it for a year as per the requirements, and then rent it out? With the current property tax rates, hiring a property management company, and any other expenses, it seems like I could still net about $400-500/month. The mortgage payment would be around $1,200 and surrounding properties are renting out for about anywhere from $1,600-$1900 per month. Any input would be appreciated. I am excited to get into real estate and want to make the correct first steps, especially so far from home. Thank you.