Newbie from Houston, TX looking to start in REI

[Juan Carlos Valdes]

Howdy everyone, my name is Juan Carlos, a recent grad from Texas A&M and now living in Houston, TX. I moved out here for a job in technology consulting and am currently renting an apartment in the Washington/Heights area.

I have been following BiggerPockets for about 6 months now, reading many articles and listening to the podcast and have finally decided to get involved in the forums.

I am a newbie to real estate investing as I have not yet had any deals apart from being a renter but am looking to purchase a property before August ends and be able to move out of my apartment and, ideally, house-hack my property for a year or two. I am deciding between a multi-family property (duplex or fourplex) or a town house, occupying a room and renting the rest. The reason I have not decided is because I am not very well-versed in Houston's market for these types of properties, but I guess that is why I am here :)

Anyways, just wanted to reach out and say hello and looking forward to being involved in BP's community!

[Paul Timmins]

@Juan Carlos Valdes

Welcome.  Take a good look at student housing see below.

Locate and attend 3 different local REIA club meetings great place to meet people gather resources and info. Here you will meet wholesalers who provide deals and rehabbers (cash buyers).

Two Great reads, I bought both J. Scott The Book on Flipping Houses, The Book on Estimating ReHab Costs http://www.biggerpockets.com/flippingbook

Consider checking out HUD homes for small multi's owner occupied gets first crack.

You might consider Niche or Specialized Housing like student housing. Rents can be 2-4 times more. Remember you don't have to own a property to control it.

Download BP’s newest book here some good due diligence in Chapter 10. Real Estate Rewind Starting over

http://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/brandonatbp/file/real-estate-rewind-a-biggerpockets-community-book

Good Luck

Paul