All Forum Posts by: Randy K.

Congratulations all around! Sounds like you're definitely exercising a wide variety of methods, are there any you find yourself gravitating to in particular? Or in other words, of the exit strategies you have experience with, does a certain one bring you more fulfillment than others?

Regarding your Apache Junction lease option, had you been advertising it off-MLS and someone contacted you, or was it just happenstance that landed the buyer?

Cheers to closing in on your annual goal so quickly, and may June be a joyous and jubilant month for you and your team as well!

Being a commuter myself, and knowing a considerable number of commuters first-hand, I'd definitely say many people are comfortable commuting to the Phoenix area from the outer cities, and vice-versa in some cases. I personally commute from Casa Grande to Tempe (approximately 45 miles one way), and I can name 10 coworkers just off the top of my head that commute 25 miles or more one way. Four from Maricopa, two from San Tan Valley, one from north Glendale, one from Litchfield Park, one from Avondale, and even one from Superior (nearly 60 miles one way). Since a fair number of employers in the Greater Phoenix area use a compressed work week, people seem more apt to commute further if they only have to make the drive three or four days each week.

In terms of pricing, properties in Pinal county (Casa Grande, Maricopa [city], San Tan Valley, Coolidge, etc.) are generally cheaper than comparable properties in Maricopa county, for better or worse. That trend may or may not be reflected by tenant quality (for B&H) or speed and profit of sale (for flips/wholesaling).

Growth wise, I'd have to give the nod to Maricopa county, at least economically. Rumors abound of new employment coming to the Casa Grande area (namely PhoenixMart, Lucid Motors, Attesa Motorsports, and Dreamport Villages), but I'm rather skeptical of the claims. Not to say the economy in Pinal county is bad, it's just not on the same level as Maricopa county. Things down here seem to move at a more ...relaxed pace, haha.

Retirement areas can be found all around, though Sun City (NW of Phoenix) and Sun Lakes (SE of Phoenix) stand out in my mind. Really though, there are loads of "Active Adult" 55+ communities scattered throughout the area, both mobile home park and the SFH variety.

Aside from the Phoenix area, it might not hurt to look into the Tucson market as well, depending on what your goals are. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable on that area will chime in.

Seems like it could be a fair candidate for a "prehab", along the lines of what Dave Short mentions in Podcast Show 174. Much like what @Alec B Calzada replied with regarding the "shell finish", cleaning it up to the point that it's appealing to a fellow investor that's merely looking to put in some flooring, trim, paint, etc.

And as many others have already mentioned, multiple bids are key.

Looks like Thursday, 15-JUN, at 7:00 PM (19:00 MST). It's listed way up at the top of the post in the header section. :)

Several years back five friends and I helped move and spread about 26 tons of decorative rock from a pile in the driveway, back through to the backyard of a home in North Phoenix. All work was done with nothing more than shovels, wheelbarrows, and rakes. Took the six of us the better part of the morning and through to the late afternoon, and that was with additional help in the afternoon from two family members of the homeowner. Just checked Phoenix Craigslist, and it seems like $25 per ton is the lowest openly advertised price. If they've got the manpower and machinery to tackle the job quickly, I'd definitely say it's worth the cost. If nothing else, call up or text a couple more crews, get alternate bids, and choose the person you're most comfortable with.

This fits my schedule perfectly, I'd be happy to attend!

When wanting to check out vacant land, I typically gravitate toward sites like LandWatch.com or Vermaland.com, but Trulia works just as well, if not better, in some cases.

Considering the proximity to the interstate, it couldn't hurt to look into whether or not you'd be able to put up a billboard and collect ad revenue. I've always thought about that when I see vacant lots alongside the I-8 and I-10 near me. Main customer base would probably include nearby hotels, motels, tourist stops, gas stations, and/or restaurants. During ski season, perhaps Snowbowl in Flagstaff could take interest?

Are there any unique landscape features on the property? Large boulders, dry riverbed, mini-canyon, cacti, drastic elevation changes? Though I'm not sure how much cash it would yield, perhaps you could contact photography studios in the area and charge them to use the land as a photoshoot set. That is, if any studios exist reasonably close by.

@Lane Kawaoka, Phoenix (as well as most of the East Valley, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, etc.) has a large selection of semiconductor companies that tend to go in cycles of mass hiring and laying off once demand slows. Intel being the most well known, which not too long ago made headlines with their plans for a $7B facility (http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2017/02/08/intel-investing-7-billion-in-chandler-facility.html). If referring to literal copper jobs, such as the mining industry, most of that is out in smaller towns, typically to the east. Superior, Kearny, Miami, and Globe come to mind, but I don't know too many people that are willing to make the commute from the Phoenix area out there.

@Sawyer Burnett, judging by another one of your posts, sounds like you're seeing the same thing up there as I am down here in Casa Grande. Most small multi-family is either in disrepair, or in a less-than-desirable neighborhood, if not both. I think you might be onto something regarding buying a larger house and simply renting to roommates. Depending on your situation, I don't see why it couldn't be a viable option. At the same time, I'd recommend keeping your eye out for duplexes, triplexes, and quads, don't give up on them yet, haha. I just recently learned of several properties in my area that I didn't know were even there. Seems like most small multifamily buildings near me are sort of bunched together in clusters, perhaps it's the same around you? Eventually you might find a group that's in a neighborhood you're more comfortable with.

My commute to Tempe takes me past a Hampton Inn that was just recently completed. Driving by the construction site several times a week had me wondering what some of the perks of a hotel would be in comparison to an apartment complex...

Having experience with both, if you had the choice of a hotel or an apartment complex, assuming a similar number of units, building age, and neighborhood quality, which do you think you'd prefer? Which reasons would you say weigh heaviest in your decision?

Things definitely do seem to be heating up around here. With word of an influx of potential employers, things have really bounced back.

I'm interested in hearing what sort of deals your student is involved in, if you're open to discussing it of course. Even with the market rebounding and various construction projects sprouting up, I'm still seeing foreclosures and vacant properties quite often. Possibilities abound.

For now I'm leaning more towards flips. Firstly to gain experience on what sort of issues to look for (physical, legal, financial, or otherwise) and how to find them, and secondly to increase capital faster than my job allows. Additionally, I think it'd help me get more comfortable with the process of putting a property under contract, closing, insuring, and so on. Having owned a home since '07 and refinancing it a couple times, I've got a general idea of how things work on the paperwork side. Additionally, between projects on my house and assisting a friend with work on his home in North Phoenix, I'm familiar with smaller repairs, both first-hand as well as coordinating with contractors. However, I'll be the first to acknowledge that I've got a lot to learn all-around.

As of yet, the distant future is hazy... Difficult to know which flavors you prefer when you haven't tasted anything yet. Though I will say that, based on what I've seen, read, and heard, the idea of commercial multifamily clicks with my mindset the most, particularly properties large enough to support on-site management.