My family is considering a move to the Lafayette area, so I'm just trying to come up to speed on the area quickly.With the university in town, and having heard a little about the economic depression due to falling oil prices, the place *seems* ripe for a good rental market.  

Whereas with McGregror, if SpaceX moves out, it could easily be the entire SpaceX company - 100% - and then you're stuck with rental investments in a small Texas town with 0% growth (though I should caveat I don't know that much about McGregor).I think any major price drops in the Fort Hood area (the soonest BRAC would hit, if it even happened, would be 2021, and would surely be minor as was the last one) would be the result of national trends like spiking mortgage rates, a recession depressing would-be-homebuyer earnings, potential tax reform disruptions or issues with the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac conservatorship.

Parts of Amsterdam are alright, although the town as a whole is economically depressed.

Unless your in a depressed market writing low ball offers is a waste of time and most agents won't put up with it.  

I just ran this through the BP calculator and I changed around some of the numbers (including expenses) thanks for the tip @Hank A.Monthly Income = $1,300Monthly Expenses = $770.25Vacancy - 5% = $65/monthInsurance = $75/monthP&I = $377.92CapEx = $65.00Property Management = 5% - $65Property Taxes = $122.33OK Area means the area surrounding it gets a bad rap/economically depressed, but the street and neighborhood where the property is located is fairly secluded and off any main roads or public transportation routes.

I think of the conditions in Venezuela as a cross between the United States during the great depression crossed with Berlin at the end of WWII sprinkled with the flavor of a cartel owned Mexican border town.

Many after the Great Depression and modern-day folks after the Great Recession. 

You may find more value today in Dallas with a depressed oil economy, but it's still a very diversified and thriving economy.

This is putting me in a state of depression so much so that I really feel like doing nothing at all most days.

I also believe this might depress prices on rehab type units as demand for more improvements to bring the unit to market become greater.