Ogden Utah.....Is it worth it?

[Shaun Walker]

Ogden Utah....Is it worth it?* (It won't let me correct my typo in the title)

My wife and I just spoke with a lender and got pre-approved for a loan. We are planning on purchasing a duplex and living in half of it. The only place we can really afford in Utah is Ogden. I have been watching the MLS and some other sites for a while now and have seen some good deals come and go. We even went up there (from Orem, a 1.5 hour drive) to see some units and get a better feel for the community. It just seemed really slummy and dangerous in general, we even saw a drug bust at 3 in the afternoon! For those of you who own rentals, multi-family or otherwise, how do your units perform? do you have a lot of tenant problems? tagging problems? Drugs?

Is Ogden really a up and coming market like Zillow claims? https://www.zillow.com/blog/hottest-markets-2016-1...

We are anxious to get started and we want to stay in the state for now. Should we take the plunge and move to Ogden from happy Utah valley?

Just to get some key word alerts going: Weber County, Roy, South Ogden , North Ogden, Layton, Weber State University, Harrisville, Clearfield.

[William Hochstedler]

@Tobias Falzone is singing the same song I have for a couple of  years now.  

I believe that one of the many things that will drive appreciation and gentrification in Ogden is the continued unaffordability in Salt Lake, Utah, and now Davis counties.  Sunset and Clinton are the only towns in Davis county where you can buy anything for under $175K.  In fact, the existence of this thread points to the fact that both investors and residents alike are looking to Ogden for the value play.

Unlike Davis county, Ogden has a rich history with the accompanying architecture.  It suffers from 75 years of bad landlording and deferred maintenance.  But the ratcheting is definitely happening.  

Flipping is tough there because, particularly in central Ogden, most properties need to list for under $150K.  We are seeing these thresholds challenged.  But for the time being, even decent margins net small dollars.

I agree with Zillow that Ogden is one of the best buy and hold markets in the country.  And from that list, one of the least expensive.

One final comment is that, if you're going to be absentee, make sure you have a good local team in place.