I am starting out as an OOS investor and I was wondering what the best neighborhoods in Phoenix, AZ were in terms of low-crime rates and raising a family. I read that Chandler, Arcadia and Paradise Valley were all great neighborhoods in that sense.
@Benjamin Papet if you’re looking for cash flow, Casa Grande is a better prospect than the Phoenix area. I live in Gilbert and it is a great area, but I don’t own any rentals in Gilbert because the cash flow is not there. The appreciation may be good, but in reality, I would rather own 3 or 4 properties in Casa Grande than one in Gilbert. I would cash flow much more and those properties accumulatively would appreciate the same or better percentage wise than Gilbert.
I am starting out as an OOS investor and I was wondering what the best neighborhoods in Phoenix, AZ were in terms of low-crime rates and raising a family. I read that Chandler, Arcadia and Paradise Valley were all great neighborhoods in that sense.
Any other suggestions or insights?
Thank you!
What are you looking for? Cash flow? Appreciation? To live in the property? Fix & Flips? Rentals?
@Benjamin Papet I think for starting a family, great schools and restaurants your best bet is Gilbert. If your looking for more centralized and can afford to live in PV or Arcadia by all means those are superior.
moved to the chandler area and looking to get together with like minded investors
The reason I chose chandler is for the low crime, great appreciation and the overall feel of the area
if your looking for a starter place I would choose the chandler, Gilbert areas for sure, the volatility right now is out of control due to the current situation, I'm waiting to get on board again after the next collapse which will be around September when the furlough ends and the next frenzy strikes before the election, don't invest based on emotion, watch the market
@Benjamin Papet if you’re looking for cash flow, Casa Grande is a better prospect than the Phoenix area. I live in Gilbert and it is a great area, but I don’t own any rentals in Gilbert because the cash flow is not there. The appreciation may be good, but in reality, I would rather own 3 or 4 properties in Casa Grande than one in Gilbert. I would cash flow much more and those properties accumulatively would appreciate the same or better percentage wise than Gilbert.
@Stanley Parsley if you are looking to network with local investors, I hold a monthly meetup in Mesa every third Wednesday of the month. I have been doing a hybrid model since last month. So we can have 8-10 people at the meetup in person and the rest can attend through Zoom. Here is the link to the meetup: https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
Wow. There is a great deal of difference between the areas you mention. For a simple way to investigate crime stats for free, you can enter an address into Realtor.com and go about halfway down the page to the map, and click on the crime overlay. The map will start to turn all shades of orange. If the area is white to a pail peach, there is low crime. The darker the orange, the more crime. If you back out further and further, the map will expand to show more of the Valley, with the crime overlay applied. This will give you a bird's eye view of the Valley as a whole and you can cherry pick areas that meet your crime tolerance to explore. Much of your choice will come down to your price point. PV, if you truly mean the Town of PV (85253), is quite a pricey community. Multi-million dollar homes. However, my guess is that maybe you mean the Paradise Valley area, which is also considered Northeast Phx. There are more affordable options there. The Southeast Valley (Chandler, Gilbert, Queen Creek, etc) has grown significantly, and is often praised for good schools and community amenities. A good investment will be determined by the criteria you set. Is it cash flow? Is it appreciation? A little of both? It is getting harder to seek them out, but there are still good deals around town that will meet your needs, whatever they are. Additionally, rental rates in the Valley are strong and growing. So, this helps to support the rising acquisition prices.
@Shiloh Lundahl I’d be curious what kind of difference in cash flow you would expect to see between CG and Gilbert. What would be a good expectation for a typical middle class home in Gilbert vs CG?
Also wondering if you’d think using your lease option setup in Gilbert would make it more viable?
@Benjamin Papet Be sure to look at property tax rates in our many different cities, as they vary greatly. Scottsdale, for example, is about half of what we pay in Tempe for equivalent property value. It's not that cut-and-dry, but the rates are certainly different.
@Cara Lonsdale I did not know realtor.com had a free crime stat feature so thank you for pointing that out! Cash flow is the main motivation. I recently read an article on the Urban Land Institute regarding market trends for 2020 and Phoenix, according to that article, will be booming in the next five years: strong job economy/job growth and strong influx of people so I'm assuming this will force appreciation in most neighborhoods. Thank you for your feedback and I will reach out when I do decide to move forward.