Who has properties in Ogden? Is that city any good?

Question

Context: I'm a new investor looking to buy my first property in 2020. I'm shopping in SL and UT mostly but recently expanded my search to Ogden and have some dumb questions.

• Why is the price / sqft so much lower in Ogden compared to SL or UT counties? I'm seeing deals on Redfin and zillow in Ogden that look WAY better than anything in SL or UT counties. Why is that? What am I missing? It seems the margins are way better.
• Those of you who own in Ogden, what's your vacancy rate? Are the quality of tenants different from SL or UT counties?
• Why is no one buying up these houses that seem to have great cashflow?
• Any noteworthy prop management companies in Ogden I should look at?

Thanks in advance!

William Hochstedler · Answer

I have a bunch of rentals in Ogden and some up in Logan.

If you look closely, good properties in decent neighborhoods in Ogden do not cash-flow much better than other areas of Utah.  Properties in East Central (basically 20th-36th St between Washington & Harrison) are very hit or miss.  Most of the inventory was built between 1890 & WWII.  There is often 75 years of deferred maintenance.

You need to have good boots on the ground or plan on visiting very often.

That being said, it is not as competitive as SLC & Utah counties.  If you can source good opportunities up here and have the resources and patience to stabilize them, there is still a lot of inventory that can be rehabbed to effectively new with the finished price point under $200K for detached and $150K/unit in multi.  I don't know if that's possible in any other metro area in Utah.  These examples might get you $1400/mo and $1000/mo rents respectively.

There is no doubt that Ogden has a strong upside in the mid- to long-term.  Considering the principal of conformity, Ogden is the worst house on the Wasatch front "block".  There is palpable progress and gentrification throughout the city.  It's only a matter of time before Ogden starts performing more like surrounding communities (or better if they get it right).

Cherie Orellana · Answer

Reeder is a great property management company. Not sure if they service Ogden though.

Every area has its pros and cons. Some people swear by ogden and love it. I still think it can be a great place to invest.

It’s an older town and many of the homes have years of deferred maintenance so definitely take that into account. another issue investors run into in Ogden is having squatters move into vacant homes. I have heard west Ogden is worse.  However you can have them removed as they are considered trespassers. ogden does have some great things going for it. I think the quality of tenant may be a little lower but as many of the homes start getting rehabbed it will bring neighborhoods up all together.

It’s only a couple miles from hill air force base which helps the economy but does have noise associated with it in some areas.

Also keep in mind home values and neighborhoods can vary significantly from block to block.