Millennial investor in Dallas, Texas

[Trevor Rockhill]

Hi all! 

I'm excited to be here and I hope to this becomes a community I grow to actively participate in and contribute to. For a bit of introduction, I am a mid-20 something living in Dallas, TX and I currently work as an investment consultant. Outside of my day job doing portfolio management I am also a bit of a personal finance nerd and am very active in managing my assets and constantly thinking about the best way to put them to work. 

Real Estate is not something that has been on my radar and I think a large part of the reason for that is that it has always either seemed 1) out of reach due to cost, or 2) too much of a commitment to a specific location is required (which is a turnoff to me as I like the idea of being able to switch jobs and move to a new city at any point). I am starting to realize that these two points might not be as true as I thought. 

I currently invest in the stock market and save a significant amount of money from working at my current job. I would like to look into how real estate could fit into my plans for wealth accumulation and if it is a feasible and reasonable option for me. As sort of an exotic aside, a friend of mine and I have been considering the possibility of investing in a rental property in Europe. We believe there are some very compelling reasons for why this is attractive but we do not know a ton about how an investment like that might work. 

Right now I am just trying to learn from the community here. 

[James Call]

@Trevor Rockhill,

Welcome to BP!

I agree with @Logan Gerard, that there are many different markets within DFW.  Think about the nice big residential properties in Plano vs. a small worn out place in the older part of town. 

I am a fan of investing close to home.  

I think that if you get a high grade property as a rental, you will have low cash-flow, but better appreciation.  If you purchase a lower grade property, you can usually get much better cash flow, but the appreciation is a lot lower.

If you start buying and stay in the market like @Christian Montalvo describes, then you will start to find the "unicorns" that are good appreciation and good cashflow.

It is a lot like stocks that pay great dividends vs the AMZN types that just appreciate like crazy!