Best cities/areas in Texas and Florida for rental properties as a first-time investor

[Klejdi Banka]

Hi all, 

I am ready to invest in my first out-of-state rental property and after some research I am leaning towards focusing more on the Texas and Florida markets. There are several reasons for that including but not limited to, landlord friendliness, lower prices, population growth projection, positive job growth rates, lower crime rates, 1% rule, to name a few. There are specific cities/areas that seem more promising than others (such as Orlando, Jacksonville in FL, and Midland/Odessa, College Station in TX) but I'm finding it hard to pick one market to then resume my search for the right neighborhood and specific property. I'm open to hear thoughts and opinions on best markets in those 2 states (or any other promising markets based on the criteria I outlined above) that I should focus on as a first-time investor. Thank you in advance for your time! 

[Shawn McCormick]

@Klejdi Banka Welcome and congrats on getting started!

I'm not sure where you are getting your information, but I can speak to Florida. In general, we no longer have 'lower prices' or the '1% rule', so those two things you should research more. Orlando and Tampa are consistantly on almost every list of best places to live and invest. Florida in general has a higher appreciation rate than many other states and a great net migration along with the other things you mentioned. So It is still a great place to be looking.

I'd be happy to dive deeper on the greater Orlando market if that is of interest. reach out anytime.

Best of luck!