New Investor from Austin, TX

[Shaheen Badiyan]

Hi everyone,

I am new to real estate investing and I currently live and work in Austin, TX as a software consultant. I've been looking to purchase my first BRRR property for the past few months with a goal to build a real estate portfolio that will allow me to retire at an early age. If you're familiar with the real estate market in Austin, then you'll know that the price to rent ratio makes cash flow very difficult here. Thus, I've been looking to purchase my first property in San Antonio and I would greatly appreciate any tips on what areas to consider or anything that would make my search easier.

Thanks in advance! I'm excited to join the community!

[Scott White]

Hi Shaheen, and welcome! I'm also an Austin-based investor, a little ahead of you with two houses, one of which is in San Antonio.

My big piece of advice is to start analyzing deals using a tool like DealCheck. Start by watching the MLS for houses that look interesting, and set up alerts so these come to your mailbox every day. When you find one you like, run the numbers in DealCheck. Only takes a few minutes per house; it's fun and you'll learn a lot. And once you've analyzed like 100 houses, you'll find that something you thought was a smokin' deal on Day 1 wasn't so great after all, and your eye will be much better in picking stuff that may actually work.

Next step, I think, is to drill down deeper on houses that you're truly interested in. Get an actual insurance quote; look up the actual taxes on the Bexar CAD site; get pre-qualified with a lender so you know your loan cost; talk to some property managers. Put some rigor into your reno estimates.

I'd hold off on looping in an agent until you've done all the above, as they're not making a ton selling under-market reno candidate houses, so you want to be respectful of their time by not asking for a lot before you're prepared to pull the trigger in earnest.

Good luck, and hope this helps!