Thinking of buying out of state - TX, LV, OH, IN, OH - Would love to hear from you guys!
First off, I'd like to introduce myself to this forum. My name is Alex, and I live in Queens, NY. I've lurked this forum for some time and finally decided to make an account and post.
So I have a business other than Real Estate, and I'd like to use that money to purchase a few properties. I'm based out of Queens, NY, but from what I've been reading I think I may be able to do better out of state. I have a lot of friends who own properties all around NYC. The cap rates don't seem to be too high and to say the laws here favor the tenant is an understatement. My friend recently paid an attorney around $8,000 for an eviction that took almost 2 years. For me to get even 1% of my purchase price in rent I would have to really get a decent deal.
I've been looking to the midwest as well as further out west. My main concern of course is having to be so far away and needing a property manager to rely on. The good advantage I have (if you want to call it that) is that I work from a computer and I'm flexible to travel. I can visit any of the areas I'm interested and stay there for a month or two to get a better grasp of the market.
My main areas of interest (and I know these are all over the place) are:
Las Vegas - I go there about 3x a year anyway, and I know prices have dropped a decent amount. I'm a little concerned with the rental demand though, given how many vacant houses and condos there are... Unemployment is also extremely high there. I think eventually prices will go slightly higher in the future given houses are selling at less than cost in a city like Vegas. I want to buy strictly for cash flow, although appreciation would be a nice plus.
Texas (Houston, Dallas, Austin) - High property taxes, but very hot market, relatively low unemployment. Landlord friendly state. Business friendly state. Population growth coupled with job growth seems like a good investment down the line.
Michigan, Ohio & Indiana - Leaning more towards Indiana & Michigan. I figure if I invest 100k (just using this as an example) in Vegas or Texas I can buy 1 MAYBE 2 houses, whereas in these areas I may be able to purchase 3-4 (I know they rent for less) and get a better rate of return. There's a few towns in Indiana that have strong manufacturing bases that I've been researching. The appreciation for these states won't be like Vegas or Texas, but I really care more for cash flow. I don't like to speculate.
I know I'm describing these on a very basoc level. I'm definitely going to do more research into all these areas. I wanted to know what you guys thought of these different areas and your experiences investing out of state.
How have you dealt with out your property managers?
How long did you stay in the area to get a grasp of the market? Do you think 1-2 months is enough?
Thoughts on these different markets?
I'd appreciate any and all replies. Thanks!