Greater Houston is a great place for real estate investments given the deflated prices compared to other US markets & the impressive population growth.Here are a few tips in this market:- lack of zoning makes knowledge of subdivisions(neighborhoods) VERY important; so know your numbers by subdivisions, i.e DOM, avg sales & rental price per sqft etc- market in Houston below $150k is overpopulated right now- too many people & too many transactions- so don't be fooled by recent sales data since they may be inflated; true value of SF investment properties should be driven by cap rates; SF rental market in Houston in north of 10% cap rateLet us know if we can assist on any way- we provide data to help investors find their own off-market deals.

If you buy a house to rent out you will inevitably need a slush fund to pay for the unexpected hot water heater failure, etc.Once you get a few wholesale deals under your belt you will understand the market better, have met a number of other investors(check out your local REIA to meet them) you can learn from, and better understand alternative methods of investing to move forward.Keep asking questions and reading posts on BP and you'll have a wealthe of knowledge.

Just curious, the above responders have much more knowledge about possible recourse than I do.

Code § 4 - Misprision of felony clearly states "Whoever, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable by a court of the United States, conceals and does not as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other person in civil or military authority under the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both." http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/4 And a licensed real estate broker (or realtor held to a 'higher standard') saying that a client is OO should have enough information through agency relationship to know who is OO vs.

I'm still in the process of absorbing as much knowledge as I can.

Do your due diligence and trust your experience and knowledge.

It can be a great idea for some and not so great for others and without knowing you, personally, it's more difficult to form an opinion.Aside from that, it never hurts to have a little more knowledge of basic business finance :)Anthony

There are tricky issues w both so get knowledgeable b4 u do either...

It has seemingly endless knowledge and expertise.

I have over 200K in cash and great credit and knowledge of the area and neighborhoods.