Breckenridge will command the highest prices, but during shoulder seasons/mud season for April-May & Sept-Nov. there are definitely people that go there, just not in the same swells that you see in peak season.

@Nessa LynI am a real estate agent and investor in the Houston market.Katy, Cypress, Spring, some parts of Houston, Conroe, Tomball, Pearland are great markets.Rent growth and appreciation is steady.These cities tend to command quality tenants, and they have great schools.Get in touch with a local agent or investor and shorten your learning curve and save you a lot of headaches as they tend to understand the market better.All the best!

Some investors will use (and markets will command) 15-20 years for a roof and others get 25 (or more) years, some get 10 years out of HVAC and others get 15, 20 or even 25 years...and pay $2,500 for full replacement (inside and outside) versus twice that amount, some investors/properties/markets require structural or mechanical replacement in 20-30 years where others get way longer than that, some pay $300 to paint a full interior unit (trim and all) and others pay thousands (not cap ex but you get my point), some need to replace cabinets every 20 years, others can be painted and last twice that long (or more), some investors pay $1.00 per sqft installed for flooring and others pay 2-4x that amount...the list goes on...huge variations by asset class, market and investor.  

Markets that command higher prices will have lower cap rates.

You have to have command of so many trades and skills and knowledge to make it work efficiently that many starting out just don't have.So, here's my two cents, having walked the No PM line for a small number of rentals (12 max) while working a FT job.I can, and have replaced windows, layed carpet, hung doors, painted, patched roofs, done minor electrical and plumbing work, gone to court, chose the right and wrong tenants, etc. etc.

I think it'll be better off in the long run since rents in the Bay Area command a higher price than in other places around the country. 

Would be interesting to see the difference between comm and residential.  

We have 70 Fortune 500 Companies in El Paso, Fort Bliss (the largest Army installation in United States Army Forces Command), Manufacturing, and will be home to the new Amazon fulfillment center 2021. 

This property commands some of the best rents in the small CA town it is located in.

All that said, rents have really increased, making more room to creat small multi family product that can command over $800/mo which is kind of a threshold number.