hey guys, im a rookie investor from san diego looking to invest out of state. before i start looking for the right people, i wanted to narrow my search to a small area, thanks for the help.

Hi @Joel Gonzalez Welcome to investing in Arizona! Metro Phoenix is made up of many cities. Within those there are many communities, each offering their own pros and cons, from an investment standpoint.

Knowing your budget is key to sharpening your search. Are you hoping to find a small multi-family property, or do you prefer investing in single-family homes? 

If you're able to share your budget and the type of property that interests you, I can offer some options to help you get started.

Melanie

@Joel Gonzalez I have lived in Phoenix for three years, and have found that even in less than desirable areas there are pockets of bad and pockets of good. Ultimately, in my opinion, Scottsdale is very nice but pricing is very high. Downtown Phoenix has some very nice areas that are being revitalized, but there are also a lot of areas with high crime and homelessness. I would stay away from Maryvale and southern Glendale, these areas tend to have higher gang related activity, murder, robbery and so forth. Peoria, Northern Glendale, sun city, surprise, and everything north of 101 north is pretty nice for the most part with some less than ideal areas sprinkled about here and there. As for the east valley, Gilbert, Chandler and Ahwatukee are really nice. Mesa has an older part of town that has gotten worse over the years, but newer areas and places like Lehi can be really great to invest in, but you would have to touch base with someone from the East valley to give you some guidance.

As far as affordability, the west Phoenix neighborhoods are much more affordable than the east neighborhoods. Prices for the same house can vary up to $50k+ from west Phoenix to East Phoenix. You will likely have higher income renters in East and more middle class families in the west.

Hi @Joel Gonzalez , @Mario Cuartas and @Melanie Johnston  bring up some great points. It also depends on what you’re interested in from a strategy standpoint (i.e long term rental vs short term). Identifying what strategy works best for you, and the criteria you’ll want to screen properties using that supports your strategy, will drive where to look in Phoenix and can help maximize the impact of your available cash as you’re starting out. 

Hi @Joel Gonzalez , I moved last year from Escondido to Phoenix. I just closed on my first investment condo in Scottsdale a couple months ago.  I still work for the mortgage broker I did in Temecula CA just remote and expanded to Phoenix as we have growing number of past clients moving out here. Let me know if there is any questions you have that I may be able to help with. 

@Joel Gonzalez I think the most critical question that is missing from this discussion beyond your budget criteria is your focus. Are you looking for appreciation or cash flow? The answer will lead you to drastically different neighborhoods.

hey guys thanks for the input, I'm currently in the market for a small multifamily under $300k that would need some work, preferably one that wont qualify for a conventional loan as I would be using HML. my goal is to have enough long term rental properties to cover all my expenses, I currently have two properties and 3 doors, thanks for the help