All Forum Posts by: Matt Dickens

@Owen Schwaegerle I have been using the MLS because I wanted to use conventional financing and most lists I have been on in Phoenix for wholesalers really don't give you much of a deal for the amount of work they require and usually were larger rehabs then I was ready to take on. Funny enough, the deal we found ended up being a wholetailer anyways.

This is the first rehab I have completed myself and the goal is 28000 for everything over the next year. It needs a new pool resurfacing, roof, and then cosmetic lift so it will be closer but I have some room for error as I am going to do some of the work myself.

@Michael Maloney A strategy that I am in the middle of right now is slightly longer term, but depending on the rates could totally work for your situation. I live in Phoenix and our issue here is that affordable multi family is just very hard to come by, and the cash flow without a higher downpayment is hard to come by. After a lot of searching and learning more about home equity lines of credit (HELOC), I decided that for my strategy it makes more sense to find a single family home that I can build sweat equity in, and then use that equity on the backend for either a downpayment on a larger property, or potentially do a cash out refi depending on how the interest rates look this summer / fall. From there, I can either take the HELOC or the cash from the refinance (theres about 100K in equity opportunity) and multiply the initial money I had for a down payment to build up from there.

Feel free to message me if this sounds interesting and you would like to hear how more of the practical numbers work out.

@Van Ngo

@Van Ngo

Hey All! I am about to close on my next residence that I will be live in flipping and eventually turning into a rental. The biggest thing it needs right now is new floors and the pool needs to be resurfaced, curious if anyone has someone they trust for each of these jobs?

Hey @Ivan Casale I live in Arizona and am a newer investor, so I am sure some older wiser ones will have additional insight. Arizona is especially competitive, at least in the Phoenix metroplex area. The west valley (west of dt phoenix) seems to be a little more inexpensive and I see more wholesale deals on that side of town. I have made 2 offers in the last two weeks and both homes have had 10+ offers at the 300-350K price point. Its a great market to invest in from a macro perspective as the things that drive growth here such as the business climate and weather most likely aren't going anywhere, but its a very competitive market especially if you are not going off market to find deals. Do you have a strategy picked out yet?

@Ryan Swan

Thanks for the three types, those all make sense. What I have been looking for this far are the “hidden” bedrooms like the den conversion you mentioned, ideally in homes that are big for the number of bedrooms they have.

@Whit B.

Have you worked with the contractor who does this before? If possible, would you mind making an introduction? Thanks for the tip!

I am looking to start the process of buying my next primary residence in the Phoenix market, with the goal to be somewhere in the east valley (Chandler, Gilbert, Tempe, Mesa, Ahwatukee, South Phoenix). Part of what I would like to do with this home is either turn a 3 bed to a 4 bed or a 2 bed to a 3 bed. I was curious if anyone has any experience with this in Arizona, or knew anyone who they have used before and would recommend working with?

Another good reason to do the HELOC is that you never know when the next good deal will come, or how much it will be. If you wanted to cash the money out, and start a private investment fund, that may also be an option. Less work that managing a rental or a flip and the difference between the rate you lend at and the rate you borrow at could still yield you a nice profit with a lot less work. While lending seems to be fairly available right now, most lenders have tightened their requirements, and you could fill the gap for an investor who used to borrow from banks but doesnt have a job or conventional job and now no longer has access to banks but doesnt want to pay for hard money.

Hey Everyone! I really appreciate the insightful responses!

@Doug McVinua If I am not a realtor, is there a good way to see alot of these individual statistics? Currently, the main source I am using is Rentometer and then trying to find old Zillow listings or realtor.com listings for the property to judge quality and additional features besides bed/bath count. Are there other tools I can use as a non realtor to figure out condition of the property esp. on the inside?

@Garrick Oconnell I think your piece on paying attention to HOAs is a really good point. I know I usually think about neighborhood, but the location even in the neighborhood is an important one.

@Patricia Steiner and anyone else who may know, are there any non-conventional tools you have used that are effective tools to help get a look at amenities, quality of the interior of a house, etc. w/o using the MLS?