Rowlett, TX a good place to invest?

Question

I have been looking for a house I can house hack or do a live and flip in but have been finding it hard to locate a place within a reasonable distance from work (Richardson), is affordable, and is in a good neighborhood. I then after looking directly in the Richardson area and back west (I know the Ft. Worth area very well) and not finding anything, I ventured east and came across very affordable homes that look like they are in good neighborhoods that will cash flow when I move out. The only thing I know about Rowlett is Lake Ray Hubbard and an awesome mountain bike trail. Is Rowlett a good area to live/rent in?

Andrew Herrig · Answer

@James Krahula I just picked up my first property in Rowlett. It's a 3/2/1, 1350sf. Should rent for $1500-1600 when fully rehabbed.

Rent/price ratios are much better there than other parts of North Dallas. Like @Andy Webb said, be careful of foundation. We put about $12k into foundation repair and the resulting plumbing issues it caused, but we knew that going in.

Just FYI - I wouldn't pull rental comps more than a year back. There was a period in 2016 I believe where there was a lot of tornado damage in Rowlett and rents got to ridiculously high levels because of so much demand. It's back to normal, but if you use that period in your search you will skew your results.

Andy Webb · Answer

Absolutely!  Watch out for foundation issues over there.  We have them everywhere in North Texas of course, but around the lakes seems to be worse.

James Krahula · Answer

@Andrew Herrig ah ha, that explains why they looked abnormally high on some sites. When I ran some numbers I was putting in rent value around what you put (I hope that is me learning something and not just dumb luck) and they still looked good. Awesome info!

James Krahula · Answer

How do rents compare to sites like bestplaces.net?

Ronald Rohde · Answer

If it works for you to live/hack, I think its a temporary living stage. I could tolerate most places if I was living for free and could move out easily to replace with a tenant.

Joseph Minckler · Answer

Hi James - it is a good area to consider, prices haven't gotten as out of hand as some other parts of the Dallas area. My wife is a realtor covering Rockwall/Rowlett and nearby areas, I can have her reach out to you if you'd like. She works with some other investors in the area.

Rowlett, TX a good place to invest?

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