Vacancy Rate , Home price, first home purchase questions

[Roland Brown]

I am in the DFW looking to start my real Estate investing career.  I am looking at how much homes cost, home vacancy rate, median income, growth trends and timeline before I have capital to be able to buy my first buy/hold property.

For now I am looking at homes in Greenville Tx, and Sherman Tx because the proximity makes sense for someone wanting to have lower cost rent and willing to commute around 45 mins. Plus both cities have fairly large companies in the town themselves. The avg rents are from 800/mo to 1200/mo for a 3/2. Avg income per house is near 40K. I have seen Homes listed on Trulia (no access to MLS right now) for 20K-45K that would needs some work. The median house for sale is 81K.

My concern is the vacancy rates for the area.  Greenville vacancy rate is ~6.6 rate and 38% of the homes are rentals, Sherman is 4.8% and 40% of the homes are rentals.

I am looking for the right spot to start considering my first BRRR, what are the questions I am not asking right now?

Would you be comfortable with the vacancy rates in the towns?

Is it a good idea to buy outside the major metroplex?