Newbie in Dallas, TX

[Jing Lin]

Hi everyone, 

I recently moved from  New York City to Dallas. I am new to real estate investing and have started listening to BiggerPockets podcasts. I would like to focus on purchasing 3bed/2bath single family properties for lease and hold investment. My goal is to acquire five properties in the next five years. 

I am a tax accountant working at a big 4 accounting firm so a large chunk of my time is blocked off by tax busy seasons. Originally I was hoping to purchase properties that are in move-in condition so that I do not have to spend the time rehabbing them. However, after running calculations I've realized that the return on my investment would be not as good. I would like to purchase a short-sale/foreclosure/auction property to get a better return, but I'm not sure how difficult the buying process would be. 

I'd love to meet and network with other investors in the DFW area. If anyone is familiar with the Dallas RE market could you please let me know about what your experiences and thoughts are regarding rental real estate? 

Looking forward to starting my investment adventure!

Jing