I am new to the area (currently renting a SFH in Missouri City) and new to real estate investing, but looking to buy an investment property in the next 6 months and three in the next year or so. I have spoken with agents in the past, but haven't had any luck finding an investment-minded agent. We'll have had what seems like a valuable conversation, and then they will ask what color house I prefer, or what the "1% rule" is, or if I prefer wood/metal fences. And what's more, they never send recommendations.
I am looking for someone who understands the rental market in Rosenberg/Richmond/Sugar Land/Missouri City/Pearland: who is renting, why they are renting, how long they are renting for and a general idea of where that market is headed.
My goal is to buy whatever the market demands, live in it, fix it up, and rent it out ideally forever while hitting as close to the 1% rule as possible. My ideal is cash-flow, so I plan to use the VA loan, but I am open to standard mortgage or private money if that's what it takes to find something that meets the criteria quickly.
I am also open to criticism: Maybe I am asking too much from an agent. Maybe it's not the realtor's job to understand the market; it's their job to find a house that fits the buyer's well-established criteria. Does a buyer make his or her own determination about the rental market based on anecdotal experience and then purchase a property that fits criteria invented in a vacuum?
