All Forum Posts by: Melanie Johnston

@Sunny Bert Earlier this month I helped a BiggerPockets member from California buy his first SFH in Mesa, Arizona. I connected him with Barbara Habbeshaw of AZ Residential Management, who I have known to be very helpful to investors. He just let me know that after Barbara's team prepped the house (new interior paint and a few minor fixes) they have rented it for $1995, which is a few hundred more than he expected. Their prep work took just a week and his tenant moves in November 1...and he is thrilled. So I would like to heartily recommend talking with Barbara.

Melanie

@Jaron Walling Californians are definitely at the top of new homebuyers here. This chart just came out today from our Arizona Regional MLS showing the previous states of September homebuyers.

@Maya Quarles I sent you those properties we talked about!

Melanie

@Christopher Xavier Yes, if you plan a trip to Arizona, I would love to meet you!

Melanie

If you're an individual investor who owns or will be buying a single family home to rent in Metro Phoenix (and other booming Sunbelt states), good news: the big dogs with their legions of analysts think you're making a smart move...because they're doing it too.

From a 10/19/20 article by Mark Heschmeyer of CoStar News:

"Young adults have been fueling demand in the urban apartment market for several years. But they are getting older, and the coronavirus outbreak in the United States is said to be a catalyst prompting them to finally make the move to a larger home.

“There has been several billion dollars invested in the [single-family rental] and build-for-rent segments since COVID-19,” Jeff Cline, executive director and principal of SVN SFRHub Advisors in Phoenix, said in an email to CoStar News. “We see investors moving to this very stable investment class from all other [commercial real estate] segments because of higher returns and more stability.”

Single-family rentals are in demand from multifamily tenants as renters choose buildings with limited common areas, and without shared hallways and elevators, Cline said. Also, tenants haven’t been able to use some amenities, such as gyms, that have been closed or restricted during the pandemic.

Last month, Cline’s company launched a $1 billion fund set to acquire and invest in about 4,000 to 5,000 new construction rental homes in addition to existing single-family residential portfolios across the United States.

In recent weeks, other investors have been flocking to the property type.

Haven Realty Capital, one of the first investors to target for-rent single-family homes after the Great Recession, is teaming with Chicago private equity firm Walton Street Capital on a $133.7 million deal for 537 properties in greater Atlanta.

Single-family rental giant Invitation Homes and Rockpoint Group this month said they plan to buy up to $1 billion of rental homes. They’ll be targeting mostly Sun Belt markets where Invitation is active already.

I know 4 BiggerPockets OOS investors who recently bought SF rentals in Goodyear, Scottsdale and Mesa (with my help). While our market is highly competitive, it's still possible to find a worthy investment.

These investors were the yachts who acted quickly while the major players (supertankers) were still fueling up. Advantage...individual investor!

Melanie

@Dan Krupa absolutely! And when buying for yourself, just be sure to be the first one in the door if you can. And ask your agent to search COMING SOON listings as well. These are not syndicated to Zillow, Realtor.com or Redfin, for example. So they aren't on any national online search sites, which makes them invisible to the searching public.

I've helped people buy homes before they hit ACTIVE status using this strategy...which, surprisingly, some agents ignore. Best of luck!

Melanie

@Christopher Xavier Welcome to BiggerPockets! I've met so many interesting people here and have made friends far and wide. People are very giving of their time and expertise.

I would be happy to share any insights on the Arizona market, with a focus on Metro Phoenix and it's surrounding communities. I helped BP members buy and sell 8 properties this summer alone.

Lots of opportunity, but also a highly competitive market. If you want to know more about Metro Phoenix, please reach out!

Melanie

Hey @Dan Krupa. I just suggested some Facebook pages and investor groups to join in Phoenix, answering your other recent post. Hopefully you will find that helpful.

Seeing this post, I just wanted to say that I've helped BiggerPockets members buy or sell 8 properties in Phoenix this summer, with prices ranging from $322,000 (new build SFR) to $677,000 (Airbnb in #Scottsdale). I'm happy to provide guidance!

Melanie

Hi @Dan Krupa. Welcome to Arizona!

I would definitely start with AZREIA, as far as joining a group that will connect you to other investors and people who can help you learn the ropes here. They are still having their monthly virtual meeting and then several subgroup virtual meetings focused on topics like fix and flip and buy and hold...and so much more. Mention my name when you sign up and I get a one-month extension on my membership...woohoo! (But that's not why I'm recommending AZREIA. It truly is the OG of REIAs.) You'll get the most up-to-date market stats and commentary from the leading experts in our market. Highly recommend.

As far as Facebook pages go, Phoenix is a hotbed of wholesaling and creative financing. I would suggest Steve Trang's Real Estate Disruptors page, he also has an awesome podcast by the same name and really interesting monthly meet ups in Tempe. Find him on Instagram @steve.trang.

Then Creative Financing with Pace Morby. He's on IG @pacemorby. This guy has so much content on YouTube, IG and Facebook that will blow your mind (who else does 16-hour live cold calling). He has a coaching program that is beaucoup bucks, but you can learn tons from all the free content he offers.

You will learn that Phoenix is the epicenter of a lot of things real estate, including the most vigorous--and strangely collaborative--wholesaling big dogs.

Another great guy on sourcing off market deals is Brent Daniels, founder of TTP, which stands for Talk To People, his philosophy on deal finding. Tons of great videos on YouTube. On IG he's @brentdaniels_ttp.

Pace and Brent and Jamil Damji (@jdamji) put on a live Facebook/YT/IG event every Monday night called Wholesale Hotline. (FB page: Wholesale Hotline LIVE)

Pace also does a Sunday at 7 p.m. "live" that he calls Sunday Service. Always interesting!

These guys are the trifecta. They are such givers, you'll be impressed by how much detail they share on succeeding as an investor.

Another prolific investor who is highly regarded and is a content machine is Zach Kepes. Find him on IG @zakventures.

I hope this helps! See you online or even in person one day.

Melanie

@Drew Hittner It has not been a topic of discussion much during COVID.

Here is a link to the latest short-term rental rules in Scottsdale:

https://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/c...

Melanie