A place near me, or near my family?

[Henry L.]

Hi Everyone,

I'm trying to decide right now between buying a place near San Marcos, TX, or buying one near me.  I've used the calculators, but could you help me think this through?  

San Marcos:  It's near my family, and I can now visit several times a year and check out the property as a business expense.  The prices are lower (about $125K-$175K), so it seems like I can afford bigger places there.  Right now, it seems like the market is so hot, it's very difficult to get to the 1% rule, but I can get close with some of them (.8% or .9%).  I can't really get a fixer-upper as living far away, it's more difficult to do rehab/repairs.

New Jersey:  I can get a multi-family that's about 3x more ($350K), and hit about .9%, the low estimate rents are $3100 total.  There will be repairs, perhaps $20K?  However, it would take a lot more of my cash right now, and I was hoping to save for a wedding next year.

Seems difficult to get to that elusive 1%, but I really don't like my money sitting around right now and I'm itching to find a deal!