I recently decided to leave the east coast, where I lived in NYC and Philadelphia for about 20 years. I decided to add to that change by leaving my career to focusing on Real Estate. I got my license as an agent and have done a lot to learn as much as possible about the market I'm in and the real estate world in general.
I am working with one investor currently, building a plan to start spec building in the new year, with a few other ideas as well.
I'm excited to meet like minded people on this forum! Any tips or lessons you may have learned are welcome! How about local groups that are sharing ideas?
Real Estate Agent · Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2024 · 155 posts · 103 votes
1y
Hey Chris, welcome to the Valley.. and what a leap you’ve made, going from the East Coast’s fast pace to the wide-open spaces of Gilbert and Phoenix! I’m reminded of a buddy of mine who moved from Brooklyn to Scottsdale.. he initially thought the desert was just cacti and scorching heat, but soon realized there’s a thriving market here with pockets of real oportuntiy. Working with an investor who’s ready to spec build is a fantastic way to dive in. If you haven’t already, I’d scope out the municipalities around town.. from what I read in The Economist, the Phoenix metropo area continues to rank high for job growth, which usually bodes well for new builds. I’ve seen folks pivot their plans quickly if they discover one city has friendier permit processes than another. And yeah, the Phoenix area has some really down to earth investor meetups, from what I’ve heard, that can help you level up fast. What aspect of the business are you most excited to tackle first.. managing construction, or scouting out those under the radar leads?
Real Estate Agent · Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2024 · 155 posts · 103 votes
1y
Hey Chris, welcome to the Valley.. and what a leap you’ve made, going from the East Coast’s fast pace to the wide-open spaces of Gilbert and Phoenix! I’m reminded of a buddy of mine who moved from Brooklyn to Scottsdale.. he initially thought the desert was just cacti and scorching heat, but soon realized there’s a thriving market here with pockets of real oportuntiy. Working with an investor who’s ready to spec build is a fantastic way to dive in. If you haven’t already, I’d scope out the municipalities around town.. from what I read in The Economist, the Phoenix metropo area continues to rank high for job growth, which usually bodes well for new builds. I’ve seen folks pivot their plans quickly if they discover one city has friendier permit processes than another. And yeah, the Phoenix area has some really down to earth investor meetups, from what I’ve heard, that can help you level up fast. What aspect of the business are you most excited to tackle first.. managing construction, or scouting out those under the radar leads?
.... I’ve seen folks pivot their plans quickly if they discover one city has friendier permit processes than another.
Great to meet you @Christopher Jennings - I see that Pat has already commented, she's a fantastic resource to have in your new backyard. We have worked closely together on several occasions and she's been fantastic!
Pat, I couldn’t agree more with your point about comparing permit processes in different parts of the Valley.. I’ve watched investors lose momentum by sticking to a single city’s slower regulations when a neighboring municipality was more open to new builds. My dad and I got caught by that snag on our third flip years ago, and we definitely kicke ourselves for not doing a little extra research up front. We’ve since learned that scouting friendlier permit offices not only speeds up timelines but can also reveal unique neighborhoods with underappreciated potential.
Chris: Are you planning to focus on Gilbert exclusively, or do you see yourself venturing into other Phoenix areas soon?
Thanks @Mike Fingleton and @Dennis Bragg. Great questions, and I will be totally up front in stating how new I am to all of this. Especially when it comes to the permit side of things.
My initial plan is to ask as many questions as possible and to search for information so that I'm at least somewhat on the lookout for some of these snags.
I'm lucky to have a motivated client/investor that wants to work with me, and I feel a tremendous amount of responsibility to take care of that trust and investment. I don't play around with other people's money.
As for sticking to Gilbert or checking out other cities around Phoenix, I'm doing my best to look at every city. I have no reason to stay in Gilbert, other than it's where my family lives currently, so it's nice to be close.
My investor feels that same (they live in South Phoenix). We both really like Chandler, Phoenix and Mesa. My investor has prior experience in Fountain Hills. Narrowing down the options will probably come down to comps and city/neighborhood specifics; things like permits.
Any good suggestions for finding out how long permits are taking in certain areas? Maybe even here in BP.
@Mike Fingleton can you recommend one of those investor meetups that you think would be good for a newbie like me? One thing that is really challenging about this market is the huge number of agents and groups that are here.
Real Estate Agent · Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2024 · 155 posts · 103 votes
1y
Chris, you’re on the right track asking about permit timelines.. I’ve seen too many new builds stall because no one spotted the red tape early. Dennis' dad and I actually tripped over something similar back in Chandler.. we learned to tap into city planning websites and even call the permit offices directly to get a real sense of their backlogs. Another trick from investers I’ve worked with is chatting up folks at local meetups who’ve recently navigated the same municipality.. they’re often happy to share how fast or slow things move. Given you and your investor both have experience in different areas, I’d say keep a flexible approach and compare city requirements before putting too much money down. I hope that helps.
Real Estate Agent · Austin + San Antonio, TX · Member since 2024 · 23 posts · 5 votes
1y
The schools are definitely great in Gilbert, which is always great for appreciation. I just saw that Antonella Parra Gonzalez, a third-grader at Harris Elementary School in Gilbert Public Schools, recently received the Arizona English Learner Students Success Story Award.
Here in Austin, many investors are asking me to set up searches in Eanes ISD, Round Rock ISD (that also cover some homes within the Austin city limits), and then of course Leander and Lake Travis ISD.
Realtor and Investor · Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
1y
Don't want to bombard with too much info @Christopher Jennings. You have gotten so many great tips already.
Just want to mention that sometimes it works out better to raze an existing property down to like 2 studs and rebuild around it so that it still is classified as a remodel versus a complete new build. This can sometimes help with regulations and building codes.
Thanks @Cara Lonsdale! Not too much at info all! This is something that I have really come to realize over the last couple of months as I've been learning.
I came into this expecting it to be complicated, and I am not disappointed!