Better market for my first property, please help!

[Tashinga Musekiwa]

I’m currently in the military and stationed in Colorado but thinking of possibly moving to Texas by 2020. I’m looking to buy my first property sometime by the end of this year and was wondering which market would be better for buying my first property to house hack. My plan is to buy my first property which will probably be a duplex, rent out the other half until 2020 then move down south at that point and have the duplex fully rented while being managed by a property manager and to try and buy another property in Texas and do the same thing. I also have my brother helping me as far as paying down the mortgage or if any expenses come up, once the mortgage is paid off on the duplex we’re either going to keep the property and let it cash flow or sell it and split the profits from the sale 50/50 since we’ll both be paying the mortgage on the duplex. All in all 1. is this a good plan to start in real estate investing? 2. Which market would be better for buying my first property between Texas and Colorado and 3. If you know any real estate agents in these areas that work with investors often that I can reach out to please recommend. I appreciate any feedback on my plan, thanks

[Taylar Caraway]

I think it sounds like a good plan, house hacking is definitely a fantastic way to get started!

We are moving from CA to GA soon and are planning to do the same thing... as long as you are doing owner occupied, you will be able to get an FHA loan for as low as 3.5-5% down. I'm not sure of the laws in Colorado, but usually it's around 1 year that you have to stay in the property.

Definitely recommend reading these 2 books by Brandon Turner before you do anything though! The Book on Rental Property Investing & The Book on Managing Rental Properties. Extremely helpful!