Newbie, relocating from Baltimore to Austin

[Scott Pigman]

Hello all,

I'm just starting out as an RE investor; this site is a great resource. Right now I'm in Baltimore county (i.e the suburbs), but next month I and my family are moving to the Austin area - probably Cedar Park or Round Rock. We're converting our current house into a rental so I guess that technically I'll be an investor then, but since we paid full retail ten years ago it doesn't seem right to say that yet.

I'm hoping that before we arrive in Texas we can find a house we can buy as a owner occupied and then covert to a rental in a year or so. But frankly that seems like a heck of a hail Mary play to pull off. So I fear we'll end up renting for awhile.

But the big questions I'm trying to work out, and which you may see me posting into the forums, revolve around working out exactly what my initial strategy will be. I know I want to buy and hold, but where? I hear Baltimore has great cash flow in the city, and I'll have to travel back here for work anyways... But which block is ok and which is a war zone can change in a block -- and I don't know the city very well. (fwiw, I lived in Michigan in the 90s and used to go into Detroit sometimes. Baltimore has areas every bit as bad as what I saw in Detroit). So I'll need to partner with someone who does know the city.

So then I look at Austin but it seems to me like the market is a bit pricey with weak returns for rent. So them I start to wonder about driving an hour north to Killeen and the army base up there, or maybe investing in Michigan where I like to go for vacations anyway, or looking into a turn key investment in St Louis...

I could go on, but it's late and this isn't the right forum.

Good night all, 

Scott