How is the Killeen TX rental market?

[Charlie Nghiem]

My real estate agent has sent me several duplex listings in Killeen varying from 30-85K. I don't have much for a down payment which makes these well within my reach. I only wonder if Killeen is a good place to start. 

I am from the Austin area. If anyone from the area has knowledge of Killeen rentals can I directly contact you over phone or PM or even buy you lunch to talk about the rental market there? 

[Account Closed]

I don't mean to sound rude but investors from outside of our market are far from experts on it.  Killeen is not a good place for building long-term wealth?  I know a couple of very wealthy real estate investors in Killeen.  One guy owns over 30 income properties and another one owns over 20.  I own 9 (8 income) properties and I do alright. :)  All of my bills are paid monthly with plenty left over.  Our market has risks but every market has risks.  If the influx of high tech jobs left Austin tomorrow I'd think that market would see different appreciation in the future.  Our market is heavily influenced by Fort Hood and if every soldier deployed real estate investors here will be in serious trouble.  If that were to happen, the U.S. is in serious trouble and building wealth in real estate will actually be my lowest concern.   I don't comment on real estate outside of my expertise because I know real estate is market dependent.  It's more than just a numbers game.  If you just follow numbers you'll probably get torched in this market.  I firmly believe you need to know a real estate market down to the small details.  You need to know tenant quality, tenant tastes and rental demand down to the zip code level.  After that, you need to know it down to the subdivision level if you really want to do well.  Valuation is different on a micro-scale...demand is different...builder quality is different...the list goes on and on.  You will never see me comment on another market other than this one because I'm the first to admit I'm not an expert on it.  No comments on Houston, Dallas or Austin from me because I'm an expert in Killeen and it's surrounding cities.  @Brian Adams is speaking the truth.  You'll be wise to look his way for advice on Killeen and its surrounding cities.  There is good business for a real estate investor here if you find the right expert to mentor you.  Happy investing and good luck to you all.