Milpitas, CA · Member since 2019 · 9 posts · 1 vote
Hi all,
Anyone here from the bay area and has invested in multi family / SFH in Fresno/Clovis areas? A couple REAs advised me not to buy in Fresno given the lack of quality tenants (issues like rent not paid , having to evict frequently, plus more dire issues like drugs). Wondering if these were specific isolated cases and whether anyone from bay area invested in Fresno and has a good experience. Appreciate y'all's inputs.
Realtor · Fresno, CA · Member since 2013 · 471 posts · 225 votes
7y
"Not enough tenants" LOL - probably the funniest thing I've ever heard about the Fresno rental market. I just listed one of my units and had literally close to 25 people a day call or email about it and even though I already rented it last week - I'm still getting calls this week about it - and my tenant hasn't even moved out yet! It will be vacant for about 3 days - I have never had a problem renting out our apartments here in Fresno - in fact , in my experience of investing in multifamilies over the last 20 years - I feel we have a very strong rental market and my turn-around times are very minimal. Last time I turned a unit around - I had it rented before I even finished updating it. I've had some great tenants , some good ones and some bad ones - I screen a lot better now so it's been a while since I've had bad tenants. Fresno is like any other city - it has the good parts , the bad parts, good people and bad people. Prices seem low to "out of town" investors from the coast who are used to million dollar studios but when you look at the rents compared to the cost of properties - you'll see that the cap rates are only around 4 1/2 - 6 % - most of the better deals are going to be found off market - though I sense a cool down is coming soon so there could be an opportunity to start picking up properties at an even better price. Fresno has a large population - there are plenty of renters here - the problem is not finding tenants - it's finding a building that actually cash flows with a good cap rate.
Sunnyvale, CA · Member since 2018 · 191 posts · 178 votes
7y
I am officially a new investor (just closed my first house is sac) I bought my car from Carmax in Fresno. He didn’t understand why more people didn’t live there. I believe getting better. They have award winning school there. There are probably pockets of good neighborhoods to invest in anywhere. Houses/Rents are cheaper so you’ll definitely get “not as good” tenants. But that’s not to say all of Fresno is bad. I personally have plans in the future to buy in Fresno/Clovis near the good school. I like to think “you get what you pay for”.
Flipper/Rehabber · Fresno, CA · Member since 2019 · 3 posts · 3 votes
7y
@Sandeep Pai Having been born and raised in Fresno for 30 years of my life, you definitely see pockets of good and bad neighborhoods. Good and bad people. It's a mix of lots of different people. That is why Fresno is one of the best test markets due to its huge diversity: social, economical, cultural. Because of this there are many pockets.
You have a subdivision that is in the Clovis area that rents out to section 8 and crossing a street you'll have newly developed homes that house the kids of those section 8 families who prospered from the benefit of great opportunities from a good school, when in adulthood.
This is where you have to be able to vet your prospects, in turn you'll receive great quality tenants that you would want to rent to where ever they go.
Realtor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2017 · 408 posts · 361 votes
7y
Michael Zuber (look him up) has over 100 units in Fresno and he lives in Sunnyvale.
He was also buying when the market dipped for the most part.
People still need places to live in Fresno. Don't buy into the "not enough tenants" stuff. Less qualified ... maybe. Non existent? I don't believe that. That's where you consider Section 8 with an experienced PM.
@Matt K. You sound like a broken record. We’ve all heard before.
What's the appeal here with Fresno, isn't one of the biggest drivers that it's affordable? Or is there some other unique thing about Fresno I didn't know about...
I'm not saying KC is the answer or even a good fit...rather I trying to point out that if the main reason someone was looking at Fresno was affordability then why not go out of state. Travel time to KC isn't that much more then going to Fresno and from an affordability standpoint housing is cheap even compared to Fresno.
Drive time to Fresno is about 3+ hrs from bay area. Direct flight to KC (from any bay area airport) is also 3:30... So you're losing an hour to the airport... Not that much different travel wise.
Realtor · Fresno, CA · Member since 2013 · 471 posts · 225 votes
7y
"Not enough tenants" LOL - probably the funniest thing I've ever heard about the Fresno rental market. I just listed one of my units and had literally close to 25 people a day call or email about it and even though I already rented it last week - I'm still getting calls this week about it - and my tenant hasn't even moved out yet! It will be vacant for about 3 days - I have never had a problem renting out our apartments here in Fresno - in fact , in my experience of investing in multifamilies over the last 20 years - I feel we have a very strong rental market and my turn-around times are very minimal. Last time I turned a unit around - I had it rented before I even finished updating it. I've had some great tenants , some good ones and some bad ones - I screen a lot better now so it's been a while since I've had bad tenants. Fresno is like any other city - it has the good parts , the bad parts, good people and bad people. Prices seem low to "out of town" investors from the coast who are used to million dollar studios but when you look at the rents compared to the cost of properties - you'll see that the cap rates are only around 4 1/2 - 6 % - most of the better deals are going to be found off market - though I sense a cool down is coming soon so there could be an opportunity to start picking up properties at an even better price. Fresno has a large population - there are plenty of renters here - the problem is not finding tenants - it's finding a building that actually cash flows with a good cap rate.