All Forum Posts by: Martin Alonso

@Eliott Elias I have talked with a few other investors and the majority like it. Some locals mentioned crime rates but overall positive feedback.

@Gregory Schwartz are those inherently more risky or capital intensive? Or do less people want to do them? What's the source of the higher cap rate?

@Jordan Moorhead @Loren Polito When I started I figured it would be a lot of hustle and maybe close to impossible but just trying to get a concrete number I can measure against. I am ok buying in C type neighborhoods to fix something up but definitely not going to start with a D type of neighborhood. I'll need to be a bit more risky in this aspect but could also pay off if the neighborhood improves over time. 

@Jordan Sand If I end up buying rentals in college towns I'll then need to make sure I buffer up those estimates for costs of running it. Otherwise there could be some bias that doesn't do justice to the true cost of running rentals in college towns. 

I just watched a bigger pockets video for the highest cash flows video and found this data useful: https://www.biggerpockets.com/... . Definitely for the biggest cities rent to price is the highest in San Antonio and Houston. Of course this metric alone doesn't give the full picture but it's good to think about.

Hey all thanks for your responses!

@David Schmiediche @Jordan Sand what's the best way to find deals in college station, is it good to use loopnet.com or zillow? Jordan do you think a property manager will be able to deal with the students effectively?

@Conner Olsen Kudos to you that's pretty insane. Fourplexes and up are usually pretty expensive in Austin but would love to hear more. Will DM you.

@Aaron Gordy true, I do think there's a happy middle between the appreciation and the cash flow play while still finding a good area. https://www.frbsf.org/economic... check this out. Even in 2011 cap rates in austin were ~4.5% which is very low compared with the other cities

@Wale Lawal I was originally looking at houston but found out that 1/3 of properties flood. How have you been managing the floodings?

Hi all,

I own a house in Austin TX but the local market has very low cap rates. 

I'm looking to buy my first multifamily home. I want to optimize for cash flow vs appreciation but would like to be able to drive to see the deals so ideally it'd be in texas. Ideally I'd like to start with a fourplex in B/C type of neighborhood and do some value adds. Budget is ~$500k. I'm looking for ~15% cash on cash. Any suggestions for markets in Texas that have good cash flow? How is San Antonio? Or how about college towns like San Marcos and College Station? 

I don't mind spending more money(500-600+) to be in a more urban area. I'm thinking my best shot is getting some off-market property but I'm still figuring out how to do that. Specially some of the more centric up and coming neighborhoods are very short in inventory. I understand other areas of Austin are also appreciating quickly but it's just not what I'm looking for. 20 minutes in any direction as congestion gets worse is going to be impossible to get to downtown during peak hours as Austin becomes more populous. 

Hi all,

New to this forum and to RE investing. I am interested in investing in Austin. Having a hard time finding a Single Family home in areas relatively close to downtown(East Austin, South Congress, etc). I am planning on living at the home and potentially rent a couple of the rooms that I'm not using. I don't care about cash flow, mainly about appreciation over the very long term, and finding a relatively urban place with businesses close by.

I browse listings in Zillow, Redfin, etc frequently but the inventory is so low that it feels impossible to find a home. What are some of the less conventional techniques to source deals in very hot markets like Austin? Not sure if this will help in any way but my strengths are in quantitative analysis. I am a developer and also have a successful side hustle in algorithmic trading(bot that trades stocks for me).

Thanks, any help is appreciated.

Martin