All Forum Posts by: Brian Volland

Hello,

I am new to the Phoenix area and I am looking to set myself up to make my first small MFR purchase in the west of Phoenix area the mid next year. I'd love to connect with some of the local investors who have more experience in the west side of Phoenix as I live in that area and I'm just starting to get a handle on some of the particulars to this area. Hopefully we'll be able to exchange some information and, maybe, even learn from each other.

So, if you wouldn't mind sharing some knowledge and maybe enjoying some free coffee, please let me know who my fellow investors are!

(cross-posted)

I am new to the Phoenix area but I am looking to set myself up to make my first small MFR purchase in the area mid next year. I'd love to connect with some of the local investors who have more experience in the west side of Phoenix as I live in that area and I'm just starting to get a handle on some of the particulars to this area.

So, if you wouldn't mind sharing some knowledge and maybe enjoying some free coffee, please let me know.

(cross-posted)

I am new to the Phoenix area but I am looking to set myself up to make my first small MFR purchase in the area mid next year. I'd love to connect with some of the local investors who have more experience in the west side of Phoenix as I live in that area and I'm just starting to get a handle on some of the particulars to this area.

So, if you wouldn't mind sharing some knowledge and maybe enjoying some free coffee, please let me know.

(cross-posted)

@Robert Lorenz I'll see what I can do about adjusting my work schedule to be able to join and attend the AZREIA meetings. I've met two or three folks in PM and REI since I've been here just from chatting folks up around town and they all recommend it. Something tells me it'd be a good idea to go.

In terms of solar power being less attractive due to legislation, can you elaborate? I'm not looking to turn a profit from selling back to APS but I'd love to be able to offer free electric or at least cover common areas.

I spoke with Mr. Rosen and he was helpful but, unfortunately  for me, he deals primarily in the East side of Phoenix whereas I'll be looking at West and Central Phoenix.

Thanks again for the help. Looks like I'll just need to pay close attention to the details for each property when it comes to who pays what. Those HOA fees can kill a good deal real quick.

Just to clarify for everyone, you can have more than one VA loan, however, you have to meet specific criteria. The easiest to meet is that you have PCS'd from where your first VA loan originated due to military orders. This quote is pulled directly from http://www.benefits.va.gov/ : "Veterans who had a VA loan before may still have "remaining entitlement" to use for another VA loan." Call the VA for a list of specific instances in which use of a "Second Tier VA Home Loan" may be used. Just keep in mind that the VA calculates remaining entitlement based on quartered blocks of the full entitlement. For example, I used $118,000 for my first purchase. I just contacted the VA two days ago and, since I've since PCS'd but haven't paid off the first loan, my second tier is available but the loan value must be between $144,000 and $273,000.

There is a lot of good info on this via the web but, obviously, contacting the VA directly will ensure accurate information.

While not a whole answer to your question, I will say that there is no MAXIMUM for a VA loan, only a maximum that the VA will insure. It's entirely possible to buy a place for greater than $311k BUT it means that you'll have to put a down payment on the uninsured amount (the amount over what the VA will cover). Since you say you have $60k in equity, you may be able to do a cash out refinance to cover the down payment on the new place, but think hard on it as you're basically throwing your existing equity away.

So I finally got to the Phoenix area and got settled in a couple weeks back and have been trying to get a grasp on how the small MFR market promotes itself in the greater Phoenix area via the MLS. I was hoping some of the more seasoned local folks who own 4-plexes to duplexes wouldn't mind chipping in to enlighten me on the specifics for the area. I understand each property will be unique but i'd still like to hear based on what you've seen or done with your own properties in the Phoenix area.

The most important, is posted rent the actual rent paid or is that before sales tax, fees, etc? How about on the MLS?

If you tack other fees to the rent, what are typical fees to add on top of rent?

HOA and other fees; If there are any, are these typically included in rent, paid from rents collected, or added to rent?

Why isn't solar power on every MFR? Cost prohibitive? Not enough ROI? Looks?

I haven't priced property management places yet but, for the sake of analyzing a property, what percentage of rents should I be looking at paying towards management? Or is it flat rate regardless of rents taken in?

I know some of y'all are going to suggest AZREI but I have not, and likely will not, be able to make it to their meetings due to work location and schedule. Any groups more local to Peoria, Litchfield Park, or Surprise would be much easier to try to schedule around, if anyone knows any.

Thanks in advance for any help/info you can provide.

-Brian

Thank you all for the responses. I apologize that it's taken me this long to respond but, as many of you know, moving is hectic. Thank you again for y'alls help, I hope to see some of your faces in person, at meetings and around town, here in about 3 months.

Hi everyone,

Well I've been absent for a few months handling some business up here in AK but life has decided it's time for a change. The wife and I should be moving to the Phoenix area in October where we'll be starting our journey in REI. My wife, Melanie, will be pursuing her Real Estate Agent license once we get there but we will otherwise have no "team members" so any input/recommendations there would be appreciated; our target area will be small multi-family units in, on an A through E scale, "B" and "C" areas. Additionally, if anyone is aware of any real estate agencies in the area that have more focus on property management or specialist that help investors, I'd love to hear about them.

So, like most folks, we'll be looking for a small multi-family except in the areas around Peoria, Glendale, Surprise, Goodyear (we'd be willing to look in areas closer to downtown but we haven't even visited the area yet to make that call). I am in the Air Force and we plan on hacking hacking so commute to and from base will be a factor. I'd rather not be a "slum lord" so if there are areas we should be avoiding due to crime/drugs/etc I'd appreciate the input. On that same note, if there are areas that you think we should really check out, I'd like to know about it.

As I understand it, AZREIA is the larger of the REI groups in the area. If anyone has any info on them, good or bad, I'd love to hear about it. Assuming the comments come back positively, I'll likely become a member once we arrive to help network. I noticed that they offer classes. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that. Has anyone been to these classes that could share the experience?

We're not planning on buying for another year or so so that we have time to understand our target areas, but any helpful information you may be willing to share would be great appreciated. I hope to see a few of y'all in the coming months and, again, thank you for any help and/or information you may be able to shoot my way.

-Brian 

I'm cruising through books that are fantastic in detailing financing, finding property, analysis, etc. but they all seem to be skimping on the real details involved in the negotiations/purchase. I'm talking about in-depth, step by step examples of purchasing from the visit property visit through negotiations until closing. 

So anyone have any recommendations on this area?