All Forum Posts by: Keenan Fitzpatrick

@Trevor Halt

Jeremy and Michael had great points and summed it up well. I agree 100% with them. Our economy would definitely benefit from more diversification. Maybe in the future with more people working remotely we will see more people drawn to AK for its low taxes and gorgeous scenery. Or maybe they’ll go to Texas where it’s warmer, cheaper to live, and has more jobs. We’ll see.

I agree. It is a little deceptive... kinda. I don't think Anchorage is more violent than New Orleans in overall volume of violence but I think it could be more violent per capita. We only have a little over 330,000 people in Anchorage. It doesn't take a lot of drunks beating each other up during our long winters to get numbers up in the context of this list.

I guess this is a response to Anchorage specifically but also the rest of the list. 

Often times, a lot of what skews our statistics in Anchorage is the amount of people that come in from living a subsistence lifestyle in the villages to reside in Anchorage. Unfortunately, a lot of these people develop substance abuse problems and increase crime, violence and homelessness numbers. These numbers are sometimes largely within these communities but not entirely, they just help inflate them when looking at the entire city. Anchorage has crime, substance abuse, and homelessness problems in addition to this factor. I know it's hard to believe as it was single digit weather yesterday but we have a fair share of homeless people here and "stone cold criminals" LOL.

IMO even though I've had my car broken into, been stabbed, been jumped, and ran off drunk vagrants plenty of times, I wouldn't say to not invest in Anchorage. I own 5 properties right now and none of them are in great areas. I live in one of them. The way I address it is to remodel my units and put in additional exterior lighting and fencing to increase security. Remodeling units also attracts a higher caliber tenant that helps improve security. There are also specific areas to focus on and neighborhoods to avoid like all large cities. 

And part of me wants to say that all large cities experience this to a certain extent. I grew up in Sacramento and have lived in Hawaii and SoCal as well. I've seen violence and crime in all these places so maybe I'm used to it and more open to finding solutions in these places that have been my home. I also lived in Provo Utah and that place was pretty exceptional in safety, cleanliness, price and newness so there's that too. ;)

Great job! I really like the beam that you used to open up the kitchen. The open shelves look great too. The overall black/white them with nice, warm wood accents is my favorite right now and looks amazing. 

I'd think there's a good chance you might be able to get a little more than $350,000 with a 2-car garage but maybe not. I usually sell 1-car garage split entries on the eastside for about that much. I don't know nearly as much about the property as you do. I just figured it was worth a mention if it helped you find a little extra value. 

Where did you find your rehab estimates to be accurate and where did you find them to be inaccurate? 

Fantastic job overall and thanks for the great post with pictures!

I 100% agree with what @Bill Hampton said. A lot of tax people are doing everything virtually now. That being said, I do use a local guy. He has been there for years and is doing a great job so I haven't seen the need to change. If I were to change, I'd probably look for someone who is an educating consultant like what Bill might be or I'd check out the guys at Anderson Advisors. They put out some good content. Call me and I can send you to a couple local people and we can talk more about online stuff too. 

@Alaina Redfern where are you looking?

@Timothy Chi I think @Jamie Rose would be a tremendous resource for what you're looking into. A lot of people specialize in one area or the other. Jamie is one of the guys that not only knows investments really well but he also knows the Valley and Anchorage really well. So keep the chat going cuz I'm learning from him too. :)

I'm only here because @Nathan Gesner mentioned Alaska. Lol

As far as the topic goes, there's some great info here. You don't have to pay for your C-class tenants stockpiles of aged kobe beef if you have a good lease. Similarly, as part of my lease I have tenants sign off on the operating manuals of the appliances and they are responsible to maintain their normal maintenance during daily use and use them properly. For example, you can't put anything down a garbage disposal or allow dish washer filters to clog. 

I learned this after installing some fancy ventless clothes dryers in a 4plex and they had an additional filter that needed periodic cleaning. After having a hair dresser live there for a year, it clogged and burned up the mother board and motor. It was all kinds of bad and took a lot of time and money diagnosing it and replacing parts just to have to spend $1,100 on a new unit. This happened right as that tenant was moving out. I returned her full security deposit and chalked it up to a lesson learned. Now my leases are bulletproof... almost. 

I would interview lots of property managers. They all have their strengths. I self manage my properties but have heard lots of great things about RPM and the team at Keller Williams and Briley Property Management. Maybe dm a couple people on here to interview them more in depth on their experiences or join some local social media groups to get some opinions there as well. Do lots of research. This is a very important piece. Best of luck and let me know if I can help out with anything else.

Hey Tyler, call Jeremy Counter. I think he just did something like that for an agent in our area on his personal residence but he might have something for you or be able to help get you to someone who can.