Potential First Purchase in Not So Great Neighborhood Houston
Hi Everyone,
I was hoping to get some advice on a couple of properties I have been looking out. I am in the Houston market and have been running properties in the Sunnyside area of town. This is not the best neighborhood, but I am seeing a lot of development in the area (new construction builds etc). I ran numbers on a couple of the properties there and a few of them have potential of cash flowing at least $300 monthly based on my estimate. The price of the properties i looked at are very attractive between 90-110K and I can come up with the 20% down for the down payment. The houses i looked at are single family homes, most were recently renovated, I checked rent estimates using rentometer.
Here are my questions:
- What else do i need to factor into consideration of this deal outside of the numbers?
- With property not being in a great part of town should i be concerned ?
- I figure if i dont provide any appliances then i dont have to be responsible for fixing. Does it make sense to manage the property myself or pay someone to do it for me?
- On a property in a not so great part of town should i be worried about rising property tax rates?
- Does it make sense to go drive around in the neighborhood to see what its like? i don't plan on living in the property but would like to make sure its safe for my tenants.
- My realtor thinks i should look to a nicer part of town instead but this means i would have to spend more time saving to come up with the down payment since those properties are at least 50-60K more and dont necessarily generate that much more cash flow. My realtor however is not an investment adviser.
I appreciate any advice.
Thanks