Buying a house in the Houston, Tx 290/beltway area

[Jesus Perez]

I've been looking around the houston area (Pearland and Cypress specifically) to purchase my first house. I was "pre approved" for a 250k house.  I'm worried about "location, location, location". i want to eventually rent out this house when i can afford an additional down payment on another house. 

I don't know the Houston area too well because i've been renting in Austin, Tx for the last few years. I'm moving to be closer to work.

My questions are: Is the Cypress/Jersey village area rentable?

-Is 250k too much for a profitable rental?

I've been stressing out more than i have ever been just finding a house, which i naively thought would be a whole lot easier and that obtaining the down payment / finance would be the hardest part. tips or advice for my first purchase would highly appriciated!  

[Fred Heller]

@Jesus Perez    I live off 290 so I'm very familiar with the area. It's a nice area with some of the best schools in the Houston area (Cy-Fair ISD). And it is very popular with renters.

$250,000 is NEVER a good price to pay for a rental in my opinion. You're never going to get the kinds of rents that will justify that purchase price. When I look for rentals for my investor clients, I always keep it under $130,000.

And I'm probably the odd man out on this, but I don't think buying a single family home with a mortgage is a good idea. I've never seen the numbers work for anyone. If you're paying $600 a month for a mortgage payment, there goes your cash flow.

I would much rather see you take that money and put it in a duplex or fourplex. Actually, a fourplex would be the best.