Buy & Hold market in San Antonio

[Ray Li]

I'm consider investing in the San Antonio area, and I did a little research there. According to BestPlaces and Niche, 1/3 of the people in San Antonio rent while 2/3 own a house, which suggests there's little rental demand there. This is probably especially true for SFH, where the target renter demographic would probably want to settle down and own a house anyways, since the mortgage is a lot cheaper than the monthly rent.

SFH buy and hold investors in the San Antonio area, what are your experiences like? Wow long does it take for you guys to find tenants and how long do they usually stay before leaving and buying a place of their own?

Thanks,

Ray

[Michael Guzik]

@Ray Li Finding a SFR that meets the 1% rule is going to be very difficult in today's hot market here. Unless you are willing to go to a not so nice part of town or fix up and force appreciation it will be very hard to find one. You can make great money doing so because depending on where you buy you can get very good tenants and get great cash flow as well as appreciation. However I would suggest to be very careful and seriously take your time to TRULY understand the market. I have seen wayyyy to many California investors throw their money here and expect these amazing returns. They usually overpay and/or trust bad people and the property goes to crap and it is back for sale at a discount in a few years. Do your due diligence not only on the property and area but also on the people you will be working with. If you do find a good deal it doesn't matter how great of a deal it is, if you have a horrible manager or just put any tenant in there you will be screwed. I always recommend to take the time and money to fly over here and drive around and see the neighborhoods and vibe of the area. Sure this may cost some money,but the money you save by doing this will be much more trust me. When meeting people that you may potentially work with I would suggest setting up appointments with them on your visit and to see them in person. This will help put a face to your name,and make you more credible and important to them because you are serious and took the time to fly out. This will also help you to see them in person and see how they dress, act, what their office looks like, what do the properties they manage or sell look like. What is your gut feeling on them? Many people are very different in person than they are on BP, FB or over the phone. I wish you the best of luck my friend and feel free to reach out if you are ever here!