Rentals in Hampton Roads VA: Is competition good or bad?

[Eric Schuster]

First off - I'm total noob so trying to learn a lot.

I'm looking to buy a condo or townhouse which I plan on keeping long term as a rental property.

From looking at Zillow I noticed that there are some large-ish neighborhoods where there are few to no properties for rent, and others where there are several properties for rent in a condensed area.

All things being equal, is it better to avoid areas where there's a high concentration of rental properties?

[Eric Schuster]

Originally posted by @Edward Barnes:

Yep, I'd say so. It's the whole pride of ownership thing. Renters are usually more transient, less well off, etc. And the ratio of rent to mortgage payment gets worse as you get into more expensive housing, I.e. $200K houses don't rent for double $100K houses. Just be careful with condos as HOA fees and assessments can eat your cash flow.

 Thanks! I'm literally just starting to get into this. I own my own business but want to get into real estate a little bit. Looking at the Hilton area to see if I can get a decent property to rent there.