All Forum Posts by: Julie Dunlap

Are you planning on doing any renovations to this property and what does the current tenant lease situation look like? 

You may also want to explore that neighborhood a little closer. I pulled up the property and it’s not technically Paradise Valley Village. I’ve had some good rental income coming in from this particular area but it’s not considered a “luxury” area like Paradise Valley Village would be. Drug issues and property damage have been relatively common for my personal rentals in this pocket of Phoenix. My guess is the apartment will also need a good amount of work inside to make it ready to justify the raised rent. I’m not saying don’t invest here, just make sure you’re doing your research and really understanding the areas around these units and what prices they can support. 

Welcome, Phoenix is a great market to invest in!

My degree is in elementary education. I ended up in property management, some of what I learned was surprisingly relevant!

Retired by your definition at 28. Hit FI early this year before I turned 30 (and the same month COVID hit). I plan on working for a little while longer and then phasing myself out of my business over the next year or so. If I did a traditional retirement though I’d likely drive myself crazy. 

What size multifamily and how much cash flow are you looking for? You’ll need some pretty serious capital for Scottsdale and parts of Phoenix. 

As others have said, 10% coc is tough out here. I can get that on my STRs but not my LTRs. I do a lot of property management with them, if you’re interested in that route I’d be happy to chat. 

What strategy are you aiming for? Unfortunately $30k isn’t going to get you very far in this market if you’re BRRRRing. From your previous comment I would highly recommend reading up on the strategy more. It’s a powerful one but you need to understand it before jumping in with a hard money lender. Keep in mind a hml will likely require 15% down. If you found a house for $150k out here (tough but not impossible) that’s $22,500 down, then you have $4500ish in closing costs. That would leave you with practically no reno budget. If you’re dead set on buying just to buy I’d recommend finding a great traditional mortgage broker who can get you into a house hack for 3.5% down. You could buy something that needs some work and learn as you go. 

As always, it depends on your goals. Scottsdale is over saturated with luxury STRs and many are selling right now with the COVID issues. Affordable STRs in Scottsdale are doing very well though. Consider some of the surrounding cities too. I have a handful in PHX and Mesa that far outperform my Scottsdale ones. 

I’d say do it! But check with your current city codes first. It’s technically against code in my area but I know of a handful of investors that house hack with an assortment of RVs/campers. They make great money. 

To be honest, your budget is pretty low for the Phoenix/Scottsdale/Mesa areas. Our average home price is sitting pretty close to $350k. I just listed a 2 bedroom townhouse in the very sketchy part of town for $160k and we had 16 all cash offers in less than a day. Market rent on that would be $1100 max and it needed $30k of rehab. For me those numbers wouldn’t work at all. However, I am still finding some great off market deals in the $220-260k range. Feel free to message me if you’d like to chat.