My wife and I live in the lubbock area and we are finally in a position to maybe purchase a rental property, we've looked around a bit here but are now thinking about looking in the bcs area as we are both aggies. I've noticed houses in general are more expensive there now, what would an average single family 3/2 rent for in college station?

Is it doable managing a property from 7 hours away or would it be a must to use a management service?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

$1/ ft minimum

The answer to rent amount heavily depends on what part of BCS. Even places mostly equi-distant from campus vary (south gate vs north gate vs east gate). Then there's bryan too. That said I know of investors here who manage their property from all over the country.

My wife's a real estate agent here in town and she can help answer your questions a lot better (she can give advice in property management and get the place leased too). Would you like me to pm you her contact info?

Yes if you don't mind I'd appreciate it, we may give her a call.

Were pretty new to the idea of investing in real estate, still trying to figure out what's more important, finding properties that generate more cash flow vs focusing more on potential appreciation.

We do have 2 young kids that hopefully will attend a&m someday (they're just 5 and 3) so while it's still important for the property to generate its own payment it may not be the main factor as I see us holding on to it for awhile.

How has investing in rental properties worked out for you guys that have done it in the BCS area? Obviously getting in 10-15 years ago would have been better but do you think there are still good opportunities there?

barnag said:

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There are always opportunities. You just have to be creative and work harder right now to find them. In 2036, you will not say I wish I hadn't bought that property 15 years ago.

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Especially with 4 or 5 natty's on the shelf...

If only there was a college town in closer proximity to you...

I have a rental property that's 14 hours away. Some months it's mailbox money, some months it's pretty stressful. I've thought about selling it and buying an investment property closer to me but haven't found quite the right one yet. Don't think that you need to buy your "forever real estate investment" now, look into 1031 exchanges. Most property managers charge 10% just to be the one who gets the phone call when something goes wrong. They don't snake a pipe or flip a breaker (they will call a plumber or electrician, who you will then pay) , and i believe if you contract them to do the advertising/showing/find a renter the going rate for that is a months rent. Seems like highway robbery to me, it's been worth it to me so far to be my own property manager from a distance but i rent below market with an understanding from my renters that they might have to deal with non emergency stuff for a couple days or weeks sometimes, and when something goes wrong i bend over backwards to make up for their inconvenience (i.e. i am paying for wash&fold service right now due to the washer going out during an appliance shortage)
My .02

Call Ryan Derkowski he has found a couple of mine in CS. Best hands down, (979) 268-3522 he will answer any questions you have. Easy guy to talk to and very knowledgable!