All Forum Posts by: Melanie Johnston

Hi, @Cecilia Flori. Very excited for you that you are starting your real estate investing journey. You will meet a lot of great people through the Arizona Real Estate Investors Association...AZREIA. Check them out online to see about attending their online monthly meeting. Soon they will return to in-person monthly meetings. There are already subgroups meeting on fix and flip and buy and hold. They have education events from time to time. All around a good organization to help you meet like-minded investors of all experience and skill levels. Hope to see you at an online or in-person event one day soon!

Melanie

@Henry Kaalekahi BP members I work with like using Art Shalomov, who is also an investor. You can learn more about him at arthurshalomov . com.

It's a good day for property investors in Arizona via today's newsflashes from the Phoenix Business Journal:

CEO Pat Gelsinger said the expansion will allow Intel to become a major provider of foundry capacity in the U.S. and Europe to serve customers globally.

The new chip factories, known in the industry as fabs, are expected to create over 3,000 permanent high-tech, high-wage jobs; over 3,000 construction jobs; and approximately 15,000 local long-term jobs, according to Intel.

Planning and construction activities are expected to begin immediately, according to Santa Clara, California-based Intel.

Earlier in the day the same newspaper reported: 

Highlights:

E-commerce giant Amazon.com is building two new sortation centers in Arizona, one in Glendale and one in Tucson, which will each total more than 270,000 square feet...

The Glendale sortation center, located at Sarival Road and Glendale Avenue, will be Amazon’s first location in Glendale. Construction began in January in both Glendale and Tucson. Amazon has two other West Valley locations that are opening this year, which are a cross-dock facility in Goodyear and a delivery station in Surprise, creating more than 1,000 full-time jobs in the West Valley.

Also earlier today from the PBJ:

Highlights:

In the next four years, the Phoenix area is expected to add 5,400 manufacturing jobs, and about one-quarter of those will be created by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s massive Arizona plant.

TSMC is expected to create 1,900 jobs, and several companies that work with TSMC have already announced plans to come to Arizona.

When I talk with BiggerPockets members wanting to invest here I always mention how much more diverse our economy is than it was back in 2008 when things went sour for the country and we felt it especially hard here.

With stories coming out daily of companies expanding their operations here or moving here, there remains a lot of opportunity for investors.

If you want to learn more about the Valley's economic and growth forecast, check out these maps on the Maricopa Association of Governments website:

https://www.azmag.gov/Programs...

Cities like Goodyear, Surprise, Glendale, Peoria, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Queen Creek and Tolleson, Avondale and other Metro Phoenix cities, are benefitting from this ever increasing economic activity.

That translates into good news for property investors around the Valley.

Melanie

@Edward Hussey There are condo complexes in Scottsdale that allow short term rentals. We can talk about that!

Melanie

Hi @Edward Hussey congratulations on getting started on your investing journey! If you are looking for the most flexibility, I would consider searching for homes with no HOA in these Scottsdale zip codes:

85257, 85250, 85251

All of these would be close to the action of Old Town Scottsdale, seasonal sporting events, ASU events, golf and hiking and all the things that draw people to Scottsdale.

I highlight these 3 zip codes because HOAs are rare here and you will find remodeled or in-need-of-remodeling homes, depending on your strategy and budget.

Most investors consider a swimming pool a must since people come here for the sun and fun.

Check out Scottsdale listings on Airbnb to see which ones have the most bookings and charge the highest rates to see what's working best. We are all looking forward to the 2021/2022 season when sporting, car and cultural events are back to their normal capacity and crowd sizes.

A BP couple from Seattle I'm working with is currently in escrow for a STR home in Scottsdale. So feel free to ask me anything.

Hope this helps!

Melanie

@Aidan Fox and @Sergio Sanchez let me give you an early welcome to AZ! I have helped several BiggerPockets investors buy homes sight unseen here, both for themselves and as rentals.

Having lived here for decades, I know all the areas and how to match them to your particular list.

To take the next step, ask yourself:

1. What’s my budget?

2. What do I want from my neighborhood/location?

3. What do I want to be near?

4. What is the appreciation history for this area?

The Valley of the Sun is big so it can be overwhelming to pinpoint the ideal location for you.

Having someone who knows the great pocket neighborhoods is also helpful.

For OOS clients I walk the homes for them, either FaceTiming or videoing each house.

Of course if you can take a quick trip out and see different options, it can help you process new listings that hit the market.

Hope this helps!

Melanie

@Fritz Plecas Definitely consider joining AZREIA. You can find them online and start attending virtual monthly meetings, sign up for educational events and connect with others so you can start your investing journey!

See you there!

Melanie

Hey @Christopher John McCarthy welcome to BiggerPockets! I would like to throw a hat (golf cap?) into the ring for Metro Phoenix. Here are 5 reasons you might want to live/invest here:

1. 1. It will give you a chance to get the "band back together" with your 2 friends. Phoenix is all about lifestyle, with weather that lets you enjoy the outdoors and great events such as the Phoenix Open and MLB Cactus League Spring Training. Plus golf and hiking and, are you booking your flight yet?
2. 2. You will be one of 300 people every day moving here now that they have the freedom to choose where to live (WFH) and want to enjoy a growing economy with a diverse employment base.
3. 3. Appreciation. Annual appreciation for the median home price in Metro Phoenix in 2020 was 13.7%. It was in single digits in some areas and climbed as high as 18% in others. Local experts predict 2021 will be a repeat of 2020. And if there are any black swan events (uh, global pandemic?) appreciation rates here would slide but would remain well above inflation.
4. 4. We have the best winter weather and Colorado has the best summer weather (personal experience). So if you move here, your parents can come visit you in the winter and you can visit them in the summer when it gets a little toasty here (did I mention swimming pools?). Best of both worlds!
5. 5. There is an active REI community that you can connect with and learn from. I would start by joining AZREIA. Events are mostly virtual now (good for you since you've only just booked your flight) and will soon let you rub socially distant shoulders with fellow investors at all kinds of meet ups.

I hope to see you at an AZREIA meeting, hanging out with your friends in Old Town, hiking Pinnacle Peak, cheering on the Cubs or playing 18 at your new favorite course!

Melanie

@Michael LemMon Using your 3-bedroom criteria:

• Nothing changed in Scottsdale...there just isn't enough inventory.

• In Chandler a great house came on the market just under $400,000. It will go fast.

• In Gilbert we dropped to $415,000.

• And in Mesa, a nice house with a pool will start at $400,000.

More houses are coming on the market daily, not as many as we need, but they are going active.

In fact, if you want to know how our market has been working the last 6 weeks...On Wednesdays/Thursdays new properties go active in the MLS. Showings are generally on Fridays/Saturdays/Sundays with offers due either by Sunday night/Monday morning/Monday night. So if you see a great active listing on the MLS on Monday don't get excited. Chance are it's at the end of the weekend cycle and it's about to be changed to "Under Contract" or "Pending."

One advantage getting listings from an agent through the MLS offers (vs. Zillow and Redfin) is the COMING SOON status. These are homes that are not yet active, but may be available to show--and even write offers on. These listings don't get fed to the online portals like Z and R.

Be sure to ask to have COMING SOON listings included in any Metro Phoenix MLS searches someone sets up for you.

Hope this helps!

Melanie

@Michael LemMon Welcome (soon) to Arizona! Let me share my thoughts on your questions above.

• You can find a single family home in the "fun" zip codes of Scottsdale (near Old Town) under $500,000, but the lowest priced home in that area with a pool is currently listed at $645,000. In the past 30 days there have been homes with pools below $550,000, but they attract multiple offers. (Well, truthfully almost every property is attracting multiple offers right now.)

• The lowest priced 4 bedroom w/pool in Chandler is currently $505,000 (staying in north Chandler will put you closer to the action in Scottsdale).

• Adding Gilbert to your search will also get you your target property profile at just under or at $500,000.

• Mesa is like a patchwork quilt. There are newer areas and older areas. I helped a BP investor buy a 3/2 SFH in northeast Mesa in October for $347,000. He is getting $2,000 in rent and is wanting another property just like that. So it depends on where you are in Mesa. I wouldn't cross the city off your short list. Just look for newer properties so you know you'll be in an area that fits your lifestyle.

Hope this helps! I'm sure others will come on and share their opinions. After all, this is our favorite topic.

Feel free to ask me anything.

Melanie