Wichita KS vs Dallas vs Austin as a first market for a newby.

[Michael Ndjondo makadi]

Hello BP world. I am super excited after 5 months of reading and research, it is now time for me to get my hands dirty.

I am looking for advices from experienced buying and holding investors in the Midwest market. I live in SD and as everyone might know, it does not offer much for buying and holding strategy. Thus I'm turning my focus into these three specific cities: Wichita KS, Dallas and Austin.

The main reason why I have chosen those three is that I have spent quite some time in these three area and have some knowledge and possible partners.

I am trying to get a property under contract by the end of November and was wondering which city would be a best bet for a starter among those three. Keeping in mind that, even though I am starting small as I want to take my time to master the game before buying more properties.  I want to get a small multifamily and go from there. Wichita obviously offers lower buying prices and some nice cash flow but I am not so sure about the scarcity of rental properties there as there is no much population growth there. Texas does offer a strong population growth, higher rents but with that comes higher buying prices.

I am really looking forward for your advices as I really want to start by focusing on only one city at the moment and get a team together there.

I can offer more details if needed and will gladly answer any questions.

[Jonathan R.]

I'd say it depends on what you think a small multifamily is. If it is a true commercial deal, 5 units or larger I would say Austin. On some of the podcasts I've watched, a common theme is that it is good to invest in liberal areas for multifamily. As far as small multifamily or sfh, I like Wichita. The population isn't exploding as you mentioned but it is the largest city in Kansas. I haven't checked the news lately but I heard our governor is moving on. For me that means some folks are peering out of their residences around here singing "ding dong the witch is dead." Best of luck in your decision.