The geography is much different than So Cal and as others have mentioned you really can't parse out areas by zip code like you can in LA.I think you need to work backward in your investment purchase and know that the rental sweet spot last year was $1500/mo and in the past 6 months has grown to $1700/mo.

But what if the market has grown 3% for the last five years?

My business partner great up in Lubbock and my wife is a Texas Tech grad, so I have grown to know and love Lubbock.

For now, the outcome is that we have grown the value of this property tremendously.

My timeframe is 5+ years so I’m hoping there is continued growth in the area similar to how the RTP area has grown over time.

Supply and demand for short-term rentals have grown exponentially, thanks to companies like airbnb and homeaway.

He's only into residential multis for now, but he may be trainable.New agents, get out there and shake the bushes and have a specialty or focus would be my little $.02Steve having grown up in a real estate brokerage business and owning 3 of them. 

If your going to be passive, you may as well get a loan and start building equity so that in 20 years it's paid off and now your 250K has grown to over 1 million plus.  

Since 1992, its GDP has grown by an average of 5.5% per year and, in the whole world, maybe only China and India have beaten that and only Panama comes close in the Americas (but Panama is not the best market for short-term rentals, as I've mentioned in a previous rely above).

@Chris ReyesMy father died and had no money nor asset to his name to leave to his family... luckily his kids were grown and working in careers.... made me realize my young family with 2 toddlers would be in really bad shape if I passed early.