Suggestions for areas that provide ~1.5%/month return

[June Yang]

Hello, I'm new to bigger pockets, but not new to real estate investing. I have been investing in real estate since late 90's, primary in VA (NOVA, DC area) and CA (SF bay area). I'll share some of my experiences and pose my question in this post.

Past experiences

When i first started in 98, 99, i was able to buy condo/townhouse in NOVA area at around 2% return (based on gross rent and before expenses monthly).  Over the years, the real estate prices have gone up, but rental hasn't gone up at the same rate.  For example, in 99, i was renting 2/2 in reston for $1200, almost 15 years later, the rent for 2/2 is around $1500.  In the mean time, property prices has gone up several fold.  These days i'm lucky to find a property that could yield 0.9% return.  I'm looking to expand into other areas in the US that may be more favorable.  

My criteria

Here's my criteria, it's a fairly long list as i'm pretty particular on what i'm looking for.  

1. 0. Growth area with good economics and growing industries.  
2. 1. B or better neighborhood.  I want to good, trouble free tenants.  
3. 2. 1.5% return monthly.
4. 3. Minimum rehab since i'll be managing it remotely.
5. 4. I have $300k to invest, obviously in the same property, and i can get loans.
6. 5. SFR preferred, but would be open to condo, townhouse, MFR.
7. 6. Minimum property value over $150k per piece.  I don't want to deal with $50k property.  

If you know any areas that meet my criteria, i love to hear from you. Such a area may not exist, in which i'll look for alternative investment in other forms.

Why minimum property value?

On criteria 6, let me add a little more color to it.  I have seen people debating about whether it's better to have 10 x $50k property vs. 2 x $250k property, for me, i would take the latter any time of the day.  In the earlier days, $50k property is what i invested due to limited capital.  Having done that and then moved on to more expensive property, these days i would only consider larger and more expensive property for two reasons:

1. 1. Your time is money - $50k property may look to have better return on paper, the amount of time/effort you need to manage $50k property vs. $150k property is about the same, however, the gain you get at the end of the year is much different, assuming 1% net income annual, it's $5k vs. $15k.  For me, at this point in my life, $5k is not worth my time.  
2. 2. Fixed cost - There are some basic fixed cost that is similar regardless the price of the property, for example, HVAC, appliances etc. For cheaper property, these fixed cost is a much bigger percentage of the spend. For example, i just remodel one of my properties in VA beach, and it cost me $15k. It's a $50k property, that's pretty much three years of profit. For a $150k property, that's only one year of profit.

Thanks in advance.

June