All Forum Posts by: Ryan Swan

@Garrett Orpin welcome to BP! Working with an investor friendly agent can definitely make a world of difference to help better understand the buyers/sellers wants, needs, and expectations. 

@Brian G. STRs in Scottsdale were booming just prior to Covid, but the virus wiped out the peak spring season here. Some operators are still limping along with scattered bookings here and there. I live directly across the street from a high end rental in North Scottsdale and it's probably been 50-60% occupied for the past 60 days. Many owners that were over leveraged are selling now, and we agents are seeing those properties hit the MLS (you can always tell because they're fully furnished yet lack any personal decorations or effects). If covid passes and life returns to "normal", then I can't imagine why the demand for STRs from travelers would be dampened come spring 2021.

I have other clients with STRs in Phoenix that are still doing quite well now, mostly because they cater to a different demographic. These travelers are often nurses, doctors, traveling businessmen people, or people coming to Phoenix for a short stay for a specific purpose. Many of my out of state investors stay at such a property when they are here doing drive tours or on inspection day. 

STRs in Tempe also do well because they are less seasonal than Scottsdale rentals and receive a ton of bookings from ASU students, parents, and traveling professors coming to Tempe. 

@Jamie Oliver do you still have your license and MLS access? If so, there many search fields and tricks available to easily find houses + casitas (detached/attached) with searches on Flexmls.

Their phone support is always really good, so I recommend start there. Also use the online guides. 

If you have a more general question, I'd be happy to point you in the right direction. I've been a Buildium user for about 7 years now. 

@Derek Jackson thanks for yours and your wife's service, and welcome to BP! Metro Phoenix has a robust and competitive real estate market...most "deals" require value add eg - buy with cash/hard money for a discount, put more money into property, then sell for a profit or refinance and keep as a long term investment. 

The VA program is awesome and a great way to reward veterans with the privilege of a 0% down mortgage. The flip-side is that if you put 0% down, you really don't "own" the building and thus it would be unreasonable to expect any cash flow without having any equity. As you're probably finding on your analysis, it's tough to even get cash flow with 5-10% down...you really need to get in the 25%-35% down range to start seeing cash flow across SFH/MF properties.

If possible, you might want to explore refinancing out of the VA loan on your old primary residence so it frees that up to use again for another 0% to low down primary residence purchase. Remember a VA loan is one of only two easy ways to get your foot in the door of a 2-4 unit MF property without needing to put 25% down. It's tough to find one to live in once you have a wife and kid in tow, but not impossible to find a comfortable property for you to live in in East Mesa or parts of Chandler. 

@Jay Norlund Lots of other great info here that I don't need to rehash. But I'll add that the best casitas are the ones with a separate address and separate metering. I've actually seen quite a few scattered throughout the historic districts of Phoenix that otherwise have SFH residential zoning....the separate metering/address could be very old and grandfathered in at this point. If you can snag a property with separate metering, then you're essentially buying a duplex with free standing units (with residential low down financing), and that's worth its weight in gold.

@Cameron Carter Gates Insurance Inc in mesa

@Ry Eikleberry definitely talk to your tax professional before you decide to use debt on the new property purchase. You're coming from a debt free property to potentially using debt, which means you always have to replace the debt on any future 1031 exchange properties. 

@Ry Eikleberry $450k will buy you a decent "B" quality fourplex that should generate anywhere from $3,400 to $3,800 per month in gross rents. That is far more in rent than you can get from a $450k house in across metro Phoenix. The flip side is that there are more expenses with a multi-family property, such as water/sewer/trash (can be billed back to tenants on new leases), landscaping, maintenance, and capex x4 units (4 air-conditioners, 4 hot water heaters, 4 kitchens, 4-8 bathrooms, etc). I mentor my new investor clients so that they have realistic numbers going into a purchase and aren't relying on wildly understated expense numbers you often see on the MLS.

Doing a 1031 Exchange is the best way to re-deploy your equity/appreciation from your former home without giving up 25-30% in taxes and depreciation recapture. I've done many exchanges, both personally and professionally for my clients. Timing is critical, as we generally want to have a game plan ready while your relinquished property is under contract, and maybe even start making contingent offers before it sells. That way we maximize our time and there's less risk of coming up empty handed during the 45 day identification period. 

Your PM contract should have a dollar amount above which the PM needs to get your authorization prior to making repairs...anything below that and they make the repairs without prior approval from you. 

After a repair is made, you should see a copy of the receipt/work order along with photos of the repair uploaded to Buildium and attached to the repair order.