All Forum Posts by: Albert Hasson

I have heard that a combination of increased prices (25% past year) and greatly diminished REO inventory has sent the institutional investors packing here in Phoenix. Would be interested to know if anyone else in the area is seeing this or heard this.

I don't think there is any "course of action". I wish I has the money to join your so called corporate raiders. I call this capitalism.

I have 11 sfh's with pools. Homes with pools are extremely common here in AZ. I install pool fences and make sure all local codes dealing with pools are followed. Thankfully, no issues so far. I provide weekly pool service and my pool guy calls me if there are any issues at the property.
I view them as a positive because the homes rent quicker for top dollar and they sell quicker than a comparable home without a pool.

We may be headed for another bubble but Joseph M brings up an excellent point in that most people still think the housing market is soft with lots of REO's around. During the bubble years here in Phoenix I knew many people who quit their day jobs to become flippers and RE agents. Needless to say they got wiped out.
I am not seeing that now, people are not talking real estate in the break room.
When I start hearing about all the new equity people have found in their homes then I will start to worry that the bubble is about to burst. However, while the bubble may burst it would be nothing like the last time when people bought homes with nothing down, etc. The folks who have bought the last 3 or 4 years will not be phased by a drop in prices, in fact, they may see it as a buying opportunity thus supporting prices.
While Rich is correct that a lot of the buying is due to low interest rates, I believe that the economy will have to get much much better for rates to increase substantially. I was successfully buying rental homes when I was paying 6% on a 30 year fixed.

I agree with Justin about the Phoenix market. REO pricing here is through the roof crazy high. Thing about it is that fannie or freddie buyers can buy these expensive REO's for 3% down and if they use Fannie/Freddie lenders no appraisal is needed so the comps just keep going up. This is our slow season but I expect prices to shoot up in the spring. Our inventory is still low based on historical averages. I made two short sale offers in the past week which were accepted. Assuming the bank accepts my offer I will flip them in the spring.

It seems like here in Phoenix Fannie Mae prices have been above market lately. There haven't been enough foreclosures in my target areas recently to tell if this is specific to Fannie or applies to all REO's.
I do know that REO's are not selling at anywhere near the 20-30% discount they were a few years back.

Sounds fishy to me. Why can't you get a loan from a US based bank?

The guy must have experience with dips**t renters in the past. Too funny.

City of Clemson, SC inspects by rental units yearly for a hefty fee. They just want the revenue.

Just turned down a tenant with a mid 600 credit score and 150k in the bank because they didn't have documented income. Sometimes it comes down to a gut feeling.