All Forum Posts by: Albert Hasson

Itzik, it seems to me it all depends on your long term goals and what you can do with the proceeds of the sale.

I invest in Phoenix which is very similar in many respects to the Vegas market.

If you sell now where are you going to put your money? Money market at 0.5%? Stock market is near all time highs so upside potential is possible but not certain. More real estate?

If you have a longer term investing horizon I would keep the homes for the consistent cash flow. Chances are (not guaranteed) that your homes will be worth more 5 years from now.

Patricia, sorry to hear that you are bailing on rentals. My wife and I manage 22 single family homes and enjoy every minute of it!

Fannie/Freddie would not be affected but FHA, VA loans would.

The house bill to continue paying the military is expected to easily pass in the senate this afternoon so in all likelihood members of the armed forces will continue to get paid.

Tom, where are foreclosures increasing?

We have rising supply here in Phoenix due to decrease in sales activity,not an increase in supply.

I'm with J Scott. 99.9% of what gets e mailed to me from "wholesalers" is crap. I recently unsubscribed to one wholesalers list because their ARV's were ridiculously overinflated to entice buyers.

If you PM me I would be happy to give you the name of my realtor.

Any agent can bid on HUD houses, i would look for an investor friendly realtor that can submit offers for you.

Also, you don't need to be a cash buyer on HUD homes, I have bought 3 or 4 in the last few years using conventional financing.

There is a First Look period of I believe 30 days where only owner occupants can bid. I search the HUD home store regularly and these days the vast majority of homes available to investors are crap.

Serdar, I too have flipped 5 or 6 houses in the past few years and agree that the flipping days are done here in Phoenix at least in the price range and areas that you and I have been targeting. You may still find some opportunities but the margins are going to be slim and in my opinion not worth the time and effort.

David, I don't quite understand your statement that phoenix is "controlled by the hedge funds and banks", that is simply not true.

First, daily notices of trustee sales are back down to 2001 levels here in Maricopa county. Currently about 58 new notices daily compared to 498 daily at the peak of the crisis. Secondly, hedge funds are minor players in this market. Blackstone, by far the largest fund in Phoenix, owns 0.46% of the houses in the county and controls just 2% of the rentals. The vast, vast majority (95%+) of rentals here are owned by mom and pop investors like you and me.

Personally, I think the flip opportunities of the past few years were a generational event not to be seen again for a long time.

Marie, if their lease under the former owner did not prohibit smoking, I don't see how you can charge them to get rid of the smell. Who's to say the place didn't reek of smoke when the current smoking tenants moved in. Did you not notice the stench when you did your inspections? I say be happy to get rid of them but it's your responsibility to clean it up.

Just had the same issue with a flip. There were two bedrooms and two bath that were wallpapered. My painter spent two days removing, the drywall guy came in next day to texture and the painter painted on day 4. My painter charged me $600 and the drywall guy was $400.

Do not paint over the wallpaper, it will turn off buyers big time.