Anchorage, Alaska investing

[Pavel Pavlov]

Would investing in a 1 bedroom place near downtown Anchorage be worth it this days? 1 bedroom place rent- able ? Love visiting there and might one day decide to move there. Like to be able to walk/bike to things.. Safety is important too..

[Keenan Fitzpatrick]

@Pavel Pavlov I would totally buy something like that for an investment. It would make a great VRBO/AirBnB rental. Sometimes you can find a little one or two bedroom house that would be ideal. If you are looking at a condo then you'll have to make sure you can use it as a short term rental. If you rent it out long term then it would be harder to accommodate your visits and wouldn't make as much money. 

The homeless issue is a real issue to consider. South addition, Westchester and Bootlegger's Cove are going to be higher valued areas that would probably be safer but you're still buying in a city that is pretty high ranking in categories that are not synonymous with safety. 

I live in Fairview. That's the "up and coming" downtown area. In other words, it's the hood. I even live on a street that has a lot of vagrant foot traffic, a sometimes occupied abandoned house behind me and my girlfriend works from home. There's all the reasons to not live in the exact place that I live... until you look further. There are at least 4 remodeled buildings within a block, another 5 that are under construction now and 2 more that will start renovation in the next year. I get a lot of foot traffic and some of it is drunk vagrants and some are grey haired old ladies that invite me to community council meetings. I could go on about my neighbors but suffice to say they are phenomenal. My point is is that even in this area which is the least desirable, there is opportunity. I wouldn't do a VRBO in Fairview though. Feel free to reach out if you'd like to chat about downtown some more.