All Forum Posts by: Pamela Sandberg

@Jarret Sa'o: the job market has been surprisingly healthy! Like every city, we took a dip with COVID, but we‘be already made up a lot of ground. Our job projections are the next 2-5 years are strong!

All the purchase contracts and related docs can be signed electronically, but most lenders will require an ink signature for lending docs. It sounds like POA might be the way to go for you. If you were stateside, they could easily have you FedEx them over within a day or two, but it sounds like that's not an option for you right now. Of course, by the time you are looking early next year, delivery service might be in much better shape ...

Investing out of state is certainly an option to look into! Talk to local people to get more info that will help you make that decision. You'll feel less overwhelmed once you have some real war stories from people who have their boots on the grounds there. I'm happy to answer any questions about the Phoenix area!

Check with your lender about the FHA 203(K) loan - they have pretty clear requirements about owner occupants/primary residence.

The statutory agent literally has one job - to accept service of legal documents on your behalf and be sure that you get them. Most PMs could be trusted to do this :) Since there's little work involved (and only if you get sued) I would imagine most PMs would be willing to add this service on at little or no cost. 

Many CA investors look into Phoenix. It's close enough that you can pop over when needed without killing 2 days flying across the country and spending a lot on last-minute flights. We also have really good job growth projections for the next couple years (which translates to a healthy RE market, both for rentals and resale). Happy to answer any questions I can!

Communication is gonna be huge here. If they know what's going on, and they know that you want to make it right (ie, a small credit on next month's rent) I think they will continue to be far more patient than if they are left in the dark. Not sure what state you are in, but many states require hot water for a unit to be habitable. If you smooth things over with the tenants now you can avoid getting into trouble with your local LL/tenant laws.

I think there's some confusion about what a statutory agent is. A stat agent has authority to accept service of legal papers on your behalf. They do NOT have to represent you in a lawsuit. Posting in the paper is only used when you file a lawsuit and cannot find the defendant - your stat agent only has to sign a form accepting the position. 

Here is a helpful link with info about statutory agents in AZ: https://azcc.gov/docs/default-...

Some of our HOAs do limit the number of non-owner-occupied units, but I've been surprised at how infrequently that's been an issue. Lenders are also on a case-by-case basis. If you find one who won't make a NOO loan, I'm sure there would be someone else willing to take your money :) (especially in this economic climate!)

The Phoenix market is RIDICULOUS right now. We have less than half the inventory it takes to have a balanced market, so sellers are at an advantage and prices are rising. This makes it really difficult to cash flow. I'd look for the "diamond in the rough" opportunities. Look for something that's been sitting on MLS for awhile (and be sure you know the reason why). Get on some wholesale lists. Stay away from the super hot markets (Scottsdale, Tempe, Gilbert). And most of all, be patient! This market is a course correction from COVID (which tanked our sales in April and May). I don't think it will take too long for the market to correct a bit. We'll still be a seller's market for awhile, but things won't be quite as insane as they are today.