Population and Vacancy

[Joe Davis]

Hi BP Community!

I thought I would take the time to briefly introduce myself as I have been lurking the BP forums for some time now.

I am relocating to Houston from London, UK with my wife and daughter. I am 33 years old and worked in recycling for 13 years. However, I sold my business in October and now am looking for a new career....the rest is history as they say.

My first questions actually have to do with population & vacany levels. To test the waters I want to try to purchase with cash lower value homes in the surrounding Houston areas (all the way out to Beaumont, Galveston, Conroe) etc. In some of these towns, the vacancy rates don't seem incredibly high and the rental to owner mix seems fairly balanced.

1) What would be the minimum town population you would consider a Buy & Hold property in?

2) When analysing areas for rentals, is it better to look for those which have a more balanced rental to ownership ratio, or are you looking for a much higher % of rentals indicating a more working class area and better for reduced vacancy rates.

Thanks in advance (unless nobody answers) :)

Also, I would love a mentor in this industry - anyone in Houston who would consider it, I am sure I would have a lot to offer in the short and long term.

Cheers! (As we say in the UK)

Joe