Investing in Houston

[Ikra Kafayat]

Hi Everyone! I'm am looking to start my investing journey. I've been doing research on different cities. I would love some tips on how you find areas to invest in? I live in NY and I am looking to invest outside of NY because I can't afford it here. Thoughts on Houston or other cities I look into? I want to do multifamily rentals for the most part. Are there certain cities that work better for multi-families. Thank you in advance! 

[Matthew Williams]

Having been in Houston for about a year now working full time property investing, I can say that multifamily investing is an unusual game out here. Particularly if you're use to a more metropolitan area like you find in New York or in the Bay Area where I'm coming from. In Houston, typically building "out" is more common than building "up", and while you do get large multifamily commercial buildings duplexes and quads are far less common than anywhere I've lived. 

In areas closer to the city center I've seen some multiunit buildings, but as you get further out into the suburbs unless you're looking at 10+ unit commercial rentals, small multiunit are harder to find. It's also important to realize, as a previous poster mentioned, you're dealing with a large sprawling metropolis with small ecosystems within it. Think kind of like Los Angeles Metropolitan. 

It's also important to think about the unit mix around you – if you buy one of the rare duplexes, will that affect your rentability and resale value relative to SFR competitors? Perhaps not, but definitely something to take into consideration in a way that would be different than in an area where they're are more common.

If you want to do this remotely you need somebody on the ground who knows the microclimates. There are some danger neighborhoods around here that looks decent online. I created a small get together group when I first got into investing and I met someone who hooked me up with a full-time property flipper who is also an agent. He helped steer me clear the rocks. Finding something like that makes a difference.