The no longer quite-so-small town of Austin, Texas has about a million people these days. That’s a staggering number for those used to thinking of it as a cool little place that’s just a little bit different from the rest of Texas.
For starters, the geography of Austin bears a resemblance to San Francisco but much less expensive. Envision rolling hills instead of mountains and lakes instead of oceans with excellent weather from the raised elevation and westerly winds that might even make you think you’re on a great new west coast city. It does get hot in the summer though.
The Austin economy is diverse, which means it has not been slaughtered by the recent downturn. It’s still better than average and has more people arriving every day. The already healthy business climate is bolstered even more by seven major colleges and universities, plus continuing status as the state capitol.
For income property investors, the northern areas of Round Rock and Pflugerville have a variety of good investment homes, where new developments are being built. As is the rest of Texas, Austin is governed by the Texas Property Code, which is solidly pro-landlord, as opposed to many other states, including California. This is great news for investors.
While nobody likes to deal with evictions, they are an infrequent fact of life as a landlord. But an eviction process that might run to three months in California will have the deadbeat tenant out of your building and their belongings piled on the sidewalk in less than 30 days in the Lone Star State.
If you’re looking to expand your income property portfolio, why the heck not check out Austin?
