All Forum Posts by: Tyler D.

 I'll check out the I-35, thanks for the tip. 

What are your thoughts on the corridor between Austin-San Antonio? Do you think that SA will benefit from Austin's growth?

I've been thinking about buying in Houston for awhile now, is it safe to buy out of flood zones or would you stay away from the city completely? I've been looking at the suburbs out in Spring/ Cypress.

I'm looking for a combined appreciation/ cashflow play which is why I specifically targeted the 4 big cities. El Paso might be a good option, but it's not on my radar, and I haven't done any research on it.

 I haven't done any research on El Paso. As I'd like to invest near the big cities and future growth, it's too far away for me to consider. 

However, there are many smaller cities in Texas that have attractive numbers. I think it's worth driving through or asking a local about the area, if it looks attractive to you. 

Thanks for the insight Violeta. I've had my finger on the trigger to buy in Houston for quite some time, so I'll have to do some more research and possibly reconsider. Is it true that any house can flood there, even those outside of the flood zones?

San Antonio seems pretty attractive. It seems like the proximity to Austin could be a huge benefit in the future, as people move out of Austin in search of lower prices. What do you think of the unemployment situation in SA? Is it bad enough to where you wouldn't consider it for an investment?

I'm looking to invest in Texas, and have been looking at Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. All 4 cities have their pros and cons, and I haven't yet decided which one I want to focus my efforts on. I'm not from Texas, but I have done a fair amount of research and want to know what you think. The way I see it, here are the pros/ cons for each city:

1) Austin - 

Austin is the most expensive by far, with rents not substantially higher than the other cities. Due to this I would likely stay away from Austin, as it would be difficult to get cashflow.

2) Dallas -

Substantially cheaper than Austin, and has a lot of job growth happening. Houses are still fairly expensive compared to Houston, but appreciation may be better if companies that are moving to Texas choose Dallas over the other 3 cities.

3) Houston - 

House prices are quite cheap and you can cashflow quite easily from what I've seen on the MLS. It has the downsides of being somewhat invested in oil and being vulnerable to hurricanes, but from what I've read both of these downsides are mitigated by Houston having a pretty broad job market nowadays, and buying homes outside of flood zones. Houston has had huge population growth and good potential for appreciation if businesses moving to Texas choose Houston.

4) San Antonio -  

The cheapest of the 4 by a fair margin, and pretty easy to get cashflow. It is close to Austin which could help San Antonio as the two continue to develop toward one another. The downside to San Antonio is a lack of jobs compared to the other 3 metros, though this could change. Overall, I like Houston and San Antonio the most as they both offer cashflow with appreciation potential in the future.

Keep in mind, this is all written by someone who hasn't lived in Texas, and is based on what I've read the internet. I'd like to know what you think about the best metro to invest in Texas. Let me know what you think!

I care less about where I personally want to live. My goal would be to maximize ROI from the investment.

Neighborhoods with high cashflow and appreciation would be my goal. Do you have any idea of where these would be?

Hey BP,

I'm in a fortunate situation due to being a disabled veteran, where I am able to buy 1 property that will be completely exempt from property taxes. Seeing that Illinois has very high taxes baked into the price of its properties, I thought that this might be the perfect place to do this. I would need to live in one unit, so I'm thinking a 2-4plex would be the best way to use this benefit.

I don't know much about Illinois, though I did live near Chicago for some time. Where do you think would be the best market to take advantage of this opportunity?

I have a small property, worth about 40k that I am in the processing of BRRRR'ing (currently on the refinancing part) and I found what seems to be a good deal. The issue with most banks was the huge closing costs, where 3k of closing costs on a 40k property would not be worth it.

But, this lender offered a 4% interest rate, $300 total closing costs fixed rate for 20yrs. This seems perfect, and I wanted to know if I should bother looking around for a better deal or take it as it is.

Let me know what you think.

If you don't already have 10 million, don't even think about 100 million. Take that idea completely off the table, and focus on a smaller, more attainable goal.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have $100 million. I'd also love to be an NBA MVP, but I wouldn't make that a goal before I've even learned how to dribble the ball.

Focus first on getting your first property. Feel it out, and see if you want to continue moving forward. You might hate it, and decide to pull out entirely. That's fine, because you're still young and have time to find out what you want to do.

If you do decide that you like it, then you can gradually start building up your holdings over time. Building wealth is cool in that it starts slowly, and can ramp up exponentially over time.

For now, though, focus on getting your first house. While you're getting experience from that, aggressively save your money so you can start buying more in the future, if you decide that's what you want to do.

Focus on attainable goals. $100m is a lofty dream without a whole lot of meaning, in your current position. However, goals like 1, 2, 5, 10 units, or $50k, 100k, 200k in real estate are reasonable goals that you can achieve in the near future. 

That's good to hear. As long as the bones are solid, I'm fine replacing some things over the course of time. This house in particular was remodeled, and has new plumbing/ electrical system, so it sounds like I should be solid then?