San Antonio TX vs Baltimore MD- Help!

[Israa A.]

Hey BP community!

I’m in transition and I’m considering moving to San Antonio TX or Baltimore MD to start my real estate investing part-time. Both markets have their pros and cons and I’m hoping to get some advice from local investors to help me decide the best market for me.

For context, my goal is to buy-and-hold small multifamily units and want to cashflow a minimum of $250/door. I would like to start with house hacking my first property and BRRRR 1-2 properties/year until I reach financial independence from pure cashflow, maybe in 10 years. Since I plan to hold my properties forever, I need to have a very long-term forecast. I have 60k saved, good credit and have a decent salary as an engineer.

San Antonio Pros: Population growth, unemployment below national average, landlord friendly laws.

San Antonio Cons: Flooding, very competitive, I imagine the window for cash flowing properties is closing, high property taxes, water security issues in the next decade or two.

Baltimore pros: Deals are easier to find, I’m more familiar with the area and have friends there, slightly lower price point than San Antonio.

Baltimore cons: Population decline, unemployment higher than the national average, tenant friendly laws, very long eviction process, older homes, safety concerns in some neighborhood.

Please feel free to correct me on my assumptions and add any pros and cons I might have missed. I’m also open to hearing suggestions about other markets. What would you do if you were me?