​Newbie from Lubbock, Texas

[Derek Brunson]

Hello, my name is Derek Brunson and I am looking for the right strategy to start my first deal as a real estate investor! I have lived in and around Lubbock, Texas all of my life (except 6 weird months in Austin :) ) and I will probably live the rest of my life here. My wife and I are both nurses at a local hospital and we have three beautiful daughters, the oldest of which will be starting Kindergarten next week. Our investing goals include making our first deal, making more and more deals until we have a better understanding of what we are doing and then continuing to make deals until we have a net annual income of $100,000 or more.

I have done a lot of reading and investigating but I will eagerly welcome any advice that I can get. That is the reason that I have joined BiggerPockets and the reason that I am introducing myself now. I am especially interested in thoughts and opinions about the Lubbock market and what strategies others are using around here.

Thanks for reading and I hope to get to know many of you in the near future!

Derek Brunson

[David J.]

Call Travis Hanson at Mertracor property management. He started buying in Lubbock 5 years ago and has 150+ doors now. There is also a small REI Club out there. Lubbock is pretty small, so if you start networking you will meet the biggest players pretty fast. You can buy right off the mls out there and they cash flow. Do any direct marketing and you will do even better. The college is stable and produces higher than average rents and there is a niche market for student rentals. I started buying in Lubbock when I was in school and just recently sold my 15+ home portfolio. Within 5 blocks of campus you can pick up a 60k house that rents for 800-1000 a month. I suggest buying a cheap one and seeing if you like the landlord game before trying to go too big. Watch out though because it is addicting. There are also tons of local / community banks that all know the portfolio loan game and have a huge appetite for SFR loans.