All Forum Posts by: Bonnie Low

@Kunal Mishra - I'm an investor from CA looking at out of state markets. We've previously been focused on Pocatello, ID where we would buy low, rehab and hold for cash flow. But we're noticing a weird trend where the rents aren't really increasing much and ARV on improved properties just don't produce enough appreciation to justify the investment of rehab costs. So we're looking elsewhere. The information you shared on other markets is really helpful, especially categorizing them into CF, appreciation or combination of both. Would you mind sharing what sources you're looking at to pull that analysis together? I'm searching BP but forums but it's a bit of a slog.

Thank you @John Mocker! Great advice!

@Kassandra Perez - wow! I had not heard about this re-fi fee. This is really eye opening and very concerning. I need to do a cash out refi soon - if this goes into effect in Sept I better get on it! Thanks for the warning.

@Jeff Piscioniere FEMA maps are NOT making me write off an entire state. Not sure why you're assuming that. In fact, I'm VERY interested in TN in particular, which is why I'm asking the question. One investor in TN shared that flood insurance ends up costing approx $100/month in her area so it really eats into cash flow. That's priceless info and that's the whole purpose of asking questions.

@Jeff Piscioniere maybe our definition of "sun belt" states varies...?? But flooding in TN is definitely an issue just based on looking at the FEMA maps. Can you recommend TN areas where this is less of a problem?

Thanks so much @Lynette E. This is super helpful information - especially about the % of rent consumed by flood insurance!

@Ryan Kelly I have a question about investing in the sunbelt states. A lot of those same states are prone to severe weather events like tornadoes, hurricanes and flooding. How much are you factoring that into areas you're investing in?

@Mark H. Porter thanks for the reply! It's interesting to see how the moves the Universities are making will cause ripple effects throughout the housing market in those areas.

We've always liked college towns for rentals as they tend to have very low vacancy rates. I'm wondering how COVID-19 is impacting the rental markets since so many Universities are doing distance learning this year? Seems like a risky time to buy rentals in college towns for the time being, but also an opportunity to sit back and wait for prices to drop if this situation continues throughout the school year.

@Dustin Ruhl - how are things looking in Indianapolis now that we're 8 months into 2020 and about 6 months into COVID-19? Where we live the market is still on fire (though too expensive) but I'm wondering how it's impacting previously hot markets elsewhere.