Purchasing in Austin with the intention of renting 3 years later

[Paul Koger]

Hello everyone!

New member to this forum and aspiring investor. Just entered my mid-twenties and the one year mark at my job, and I’ve finally unlocked the possibility of home ownership.

The company I work for has a plan in place to relocate from San Diego, CA to Dallas, TX by 2024. I have the ability to work remote and I plan on purchasing in Austin either Q4 of this year or Q1 of next. Ideally, I will be house hacking a duplex or triplex in the Dallas area in three or four years to coincide with my companies move, then turning my Austin home into a rental unit.

As a San Diegan I have very limited knowledge of Austin‘s Real Estate market aside from the obvious, a sellers market with a constant influx of individuals such as myself. I’m wondering if this is a feasible plan with a budget that caps out around $320K. What are the best areas to search in for appreciation value at this time?

[Michael Tyler]

Like Larry, I’m also from San Diego (Hillcrest/City Heights) and own a duplex in north Austin. The city is about as close as you get to California in Texas. The duplexes in the area are more purpose-built and often have more space than the apartment-style units many think of. If you were to consider a duplex, go for 3/2s for the lower vacancy rate. Rents have boomed - before the last few weeks that is, we’ll all see where it goes from here. But in our neighborhood the average for a 3/2 is $1500. Sounds cheap coming from San Diego, but it’s a big jump compared to a few years ago.