I have started looking into buying an investment property in BCS. My wife and I have decided to save up and try to get a house for around $250k or less. We want to Airbnb or home away or some type of short term rental company. Can anyone give advice on this? Should we buy a lesser value home or a more exspensive one? In the end, if we ever choose to move to college station in the future, we might move into it but for now we would like to try our hand at rental properties. Are there any cons? What kind of returns can we make with this?

Lots of investors in this forum so I will let them respond. I am mortgage and can answer questions about lending.

Cstat. The Brazos Valley. The Windy Apple...

I think finding a realtor would be a good first step.

Realtor here that has lived in the community 25 years if you want to talk. I have also owned investment property. Feel free to PM me if interested.

@ mrgreen, would you provide your email or add it to your profile description? I can't pm because I don't pay for TexAgs.

Tex_Ag_2017 said:

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@ mrgreen, would you provide your email or add it to your profile description? I can't pm because I don't pay for TexAgs.

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Sorry. Mikegreenjr@kw.com

I am also a REALTOR. I have helped many investors in Bryan/College Station with investment properties and I also am an active investor. I would love the opportunity to interview to help you. Goly Apgar, Century 21 Beal (Centurion Producer), 979-450-8698, golnaza@century21bcs.com

I agree with Dubi.
My idea is that many are trying to hold on to vacant properties with the hope of renting in December. Once December comes and goes prices will drop. I plan on using some dry powder to buy a few more in February, March time frame.

Goly Apgar said:

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I am also a REALTOR. I have helped many investors in Bryan/College Station with investment properties and I also am an active investor. I would love the opportunity to interview to help you. Goly Apgar, Century 21 Beal (Centurion Producer), 979-450-8698, golnaza@century21bcs.com

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Two thumbs up for Goly! Highly recommend her.

Realtor, investor, hard money lender here...also own a VRBO unit in town. We just had our first booking/guests for the Clemson game. It went well but we'll need ~13 more at that price before we break even on the cost to furnish (4 bed/3 bath townhouse). I'm not into it long enough to really know how it'll play out but from most of what I've heard...traditional rentals outperform VRBOs unless you're in a market where the VRBO can be rented year round (beach, Vegas, etc). Outside of football season the market in B/CS isn't huge (but the # of VRBOs is). That being said, we do have a mid-week booking this fall and have also been booked for graduation next May. Feel free to holler. Jeff at 12realty dot com.

Mike Green and Goly Apgar are both outstanding realtors and you wont go wrong with either of them.

Braxton.Sherrill said:

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Mike Green and Goly Apgar are both outstanding realtors and you wont go wrong with either of them.

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Thanks Braxton.

The market will turn and already has in your favor for purchase but if you are doing short term rental or game day stuff you are obviously too late for the fall season. You may be able to find some people for a spring lease but that would entail college student more than likely and I don't know if you want to go that route

Also and agent and investor. We have 1 VRBO rental but only because we had tenants leave in the middle of the night in August and it was too late to rent for the fall. We have done it a couple other years in situations like this. A few things to note with vacation property in College Station.

1) both the city and neighborhoods can be tough on you. Very specific requirements you must meet
2) It is expensive to furnish the unit, especially to make it nice enough that it will rent well
3) Typically you only have 6 homes games, 2-3 of which will be pretty garbage games. You can still rent but will have to lower price drastically. Besides that you have graduation and parents weekend. Those are about the only times it will rent consistently.
4) you will almost always make more with a long term rental.

The College Station market has not been great the last couple of years for residential investors with prices and taxes increasing but rental rates declining or staying stagnant at best.

We have been moving most of our investment clients to other markets. I really like the Rockport market right now. There are some good buys after the storm, the vacation rental market is good because supply is down since the storm and you also can buy in what is referred to as the "opportunity zone" which allows you to reduce or completely avoid capital gains taxes when selling depending on how long you hold the property.

Tex_Ag_2017 said:

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I have started looking into buying an investment property in BCS. My wife and I have decided to save up and try to get a house for around $250k or less. We want to Airbnb or home away or some type of short term rental company. Can anyone give advice on this? Should we buy a lesser value home or a more exspensive one? In the end, if we ever choose to move to college station in the future, we might move into it but for now we would like to try our hand at rental properties. Are there any cons? What kind of returns can we make with this?

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College Station has rules on short term rentals and will pursue you if they can for HOT funds. It's easier if you do it with a condo instead of a house in CS. If going with a house, go ahead and do traditional renting.

We did VRBO for a while on a condo, and let out for the home games and a couple more weekends. Let friends and family stay when needed, then rented it out full time the next year. Paid the taxes with VRBO but lost money on the condo association fees. Furnished it relatively cheaply with stuff from Big Lots, Walmart, and Target. Used a teenager of a family we knew for cleaning and used Harvey Washbanger's laundry service for the bedding.

Personally I'd get a duplex and try to rent it. If one side is vacant at least you're getting income from the other. If you move here you can live on one side until you buy. Get a home warranty that covers the AC to protect yourself from appliance catastrophe. Be forewarned duplexes can be on the expensive side.

/2 cents