How to find Areas of Interest

Question

Hello,

I'm another new face to the game. I'm currently trying to read as many RE books, listen to podcasts, read blog posts, going to local REIA meetings and become Real Estate Literate. At the same time, I'm relatively new to Austin, TX having moved from Maryland, so the whole area is new to me. This is a local question as well as more of a general question. When starting out, not really knowing the area, how does one evaluate what would be good areas/neighborhoods to start looking for opportunities to analyze?

My goal currently is in paying down my student loan debt as quickly as possible, as that is still around $100k. Should be able to be gone in 3 years, or may be able to refinance in a year or two to free up some investing capital. After that, my first ideal property would be a multifamily, 2-4 units, that I could live in while building up more capital for a next investment using a similar strategy.

I appreciate any feedback.

-Randy

David Thompson · Answer

Hi Randy,

Welcome to Austin !  If you are looking a local MF, there are a few meetup groups that you might want to plug into that focus on this area here in Austin.  These are the ones I'm familiar w/an plug into.  This first one meets monthly and is more geared to education.  The second one meets weekly and is focused more on networking.  The last one is a catch all, basically networking but all sorts of REI niches discussed.  None of these are sales oriented like REIA so check them out and see what might work for you to plug into the local community and ask your questions.

https://www.meetup.com/Apartment-Investor-Mastery-...

https://www.meetup.com/en-AU/Austin-Apartment-Inve...

https://www.meetup.com/REALESTATEinvestormastermin...

Account Closed · Answer

@Randy Stout

Welcome to Bigger Pockets!

As some people have said above, anywhere along the I35 corridor is most likely going to be a solid investment. I think knowing the number is solid and speculative investing can be risky. Look, listen, and read you'll find yourself making a solid investment. If you're like me and prefer a data-based approach, Texas A&M's real estate center website is a great centralized, objective resource to look at some of the market trends in the Austin-Round Rock MSA.

Here is their website:

https://www.recenter.tamu.edu/

This is their housing activity page where you can dive into specific areas  a little more and how the market has changed over the years:

https://www.recenter.tamu.edu/data/housing-activit...

I also work with a real estate investment firm here in Austin, so if you have any questions feel free to reach out!

David Thompson · Answer

I can tell you my investor friendly realtor who I met up w/last week mentioned said she is doing a lot of buying for clients in Leander, north of Cedar Park adjacent to I-183 where homes are still relatively affordable.  Lots of growth out there.  I don't think you can go wrong buying along the I-35 corridor from north Austin to San Antonio which has been and will continue to remain on fire.  Some of the fastest growing towns in the U.S. are happening along this stretch.  Folks can live anywhere along the stretch and commute to either city for work.

Randy Stout · Answer

So, I live currently in 78704 in Austin, and obviously the competition is pretty crazy here as well as the price of properties. I have just done some minor searching in multifamily properties and see nothing that would be appropriate for me ($1million+ for multi family properties). I'm also considering using an FHA to purchase a primary residence and getting a 3 bedroom 2 bath place and just renting out to roommates. I don't see a lot of posts about this, even though, I think this would be an obvious idea for a first time home buyer. Would it be wise to do something like this, and then use the tenant screening tips in order to screen potential roommates. I would eventually want to rent the property out after having lived there long enough to satisfy the FHA loan. Is there any information on this website about this that I'm missing. Maybe I'm not searching for the correct keywords. Living with roommates would make the most sense to me given my lifestyle and wanting to stay in the same area that I'm currently living. Any advice or help is appreciated.

PS, I have found a few meetup groups for investors and real estate associations, and plan on attending those groups events in the coming weeks.

Jonatan Barbera · Answer

Hello @Randy Stout to answer to question in a more general way, the best way to start looking for an area is to first determine what your strategy will be. If you're going to be wholesaler figure out what type of buyer you will be targeting. A buy and hold property usually, isn't going to be in the same neighborhood as a fix and flip. If you're going to pick up the properties yourself the same rule applies. As far as multifamily homes go, everyone getting into real estate is trying to do the same thing and it has driven up the price. Here in SA it makes more sense to buy SFR then multi. So just make sure you're not overpaying just because it's a multi. In SA we find most SFR bring an average of 20%+ CCR (cash on cash return) so figure out what return you're targeting.

The biggest thing you can do is attending local REIAs and see what other people are doing. Find out what areas do flippers, buy and hold, multi, investors target.

Christine Newton · Answer

@David Thompson gave a great list of meetups that you can start with to start networking and learning about what is going on locally. Other than that...just start driving. When I was investing in single family, I would pick a neighborhood and go drive for dollars just like @Jarrod Weaver mentioned above. It's the best way to start to get to know the city, and don't forget the outlying cities as well!

Jarrod Weaver · Answer

I typically find areas of interest by taking motorcycle rides. When I see something interesting (always do), I make a note of it and do the research when I get back in front of the computer. Nothing better than breathing fresh air and getting a live look at the area. It takes a while but is an effective way to learn the market and find deals.

Brandon L. · Answer

@Randy Stout welcome to BP, and good luck.

How to find Areas of Interest

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