Best Cities to buy a multi family property in Arizona

[Gregory Greene]

Hi, I am looking to invest in my first property in AZ. I am currently in California. I am looking into AZ because it’s a less expensive market and I’ve been to Vegas but never been to AZ so i wanted at least check it out before i rule it out completely. I did my research on AZ and I’m looking for multi family units with a good or decent cash flow return. If you have any information that would help I would greatly appreciate it thank you.

[Shellie H.]

As far as specific cities go... if you like it hot - Phoenix area or Lake Havasu City (LHC) may suit you. Lake Havasu used to be hotter than Phoenix, but all the blacktop made them eventually surpass Havasu's heat - you can fry an egg on your car if you don't care about the paint :o).  If you look at the wiki for the cities, you can usually find a climate graphic that shows you highs/lows/precip, etc.  It is not unheard of for Lake Havasu City to only rain once a year, so people started doing not-so-smart things like building houses in the bottom of washes, and then they were shocked when they would finally have a decent monsoon and get hit with a flash flood.  It does not need to rain nearby to get a flash flood down a wash, that is why hiking slot canyons requires a knowledgeable permitted guide (definitely a bucket list item).  The lake in Lake Havasu City is beautiful when it is clean, and the city is working on that (darn houseboats dumping in the lake), but be prepared for a funky fishy smell when you drive into town on a hot day.  Your brain will eventually tune out the smell after a day or two - not a game changer for most, but the brain eating amoeba in the lake was, and I know many who now swear to never swim/boat/ski there again.  Still, its great for fishing on a boat, and people watching at the beach if you like that sort of thing - not as family friendly as it used to be.  There is less risk of amoeba with cooler waters and often enough wind to windsurf on the lake in the winter.  AC is a must in summer, and recommended over swamp coolers, as those do not work on humid days. There is not much educational or work opportunity in LHC, so most of the people I know that are younger have moved away looking for better opportunities.  MCC (Mohave Community College) has expanded since I lived there, but is still small. LHC is definitely primarily a tourist/retiree town.  In the winter you have the snowbirds, the in summer you have the MTV parties at Copper Canyon (it made the photo cover of the phone book one year), and the rest of the year you have people driving back and forth over the London Bridge, and can't find it because it's smaller than they think (lol). Them... "Excuse me, could you tell me where the London Bridge is?" Me... "Um, you're on it."  Them... "Really, I thought it would be much larger." Me... "Sorry, but this is it. You have to go underneath to really see it."  All joking aside - that really did happen, and it is still a beautiful thing to check out, but they sold off most of the bridge years ago in little bits as tourist keepsakes, and only re-built part of the original bridge before digging the canal to make the island.  Still pretty, and worth checking out, but have other things on your to do list while you are there. Also, don't expect straight streets - the roads look like spaghetti dumped on the ground from a birds eye view as the developers wanted to make as many lake view properties as possible.  McCulloch was smart. 

Phoenix area has a lot of golf courses, so they can experience humidity from the watering of those courses, and depending on where you are, it may smell like grass soup on a hot day (golfers' paradise).  Fabulous weather in the winter though, for the most part.  Both Lake Havasu and Phoenix get hit with windstorms, but Phoenix actually has haboobs (yes, that's a real thing).  Scottsdale is the more ritzy area near Phoenix (I believe Robert Kiyosaki still lives there).  North Glendale near the ASU campus is less expensive & OK, south Glendale had issues with crime and a serial shooter with in the last couple of years (I had family and friends at both ASU campuses).  Tempe and the areas around Grand Canyon University in Phoenix are known for being high crime (I had extended family attend there too).  Generally, I hear better things about the more northern areas of the greater Phoenix metro area, and there seems to be more new development the more north of Phoenix you go such as in New River or near Carefree Hwy, but am not an expert - I mainly drive it for events, going to the airport, to visit others, family in college, etc. 

Not digging the heat? Move to higher elevations.  However, I would caution those who are sensitive to high altitude, or who use supplemental oxygen to see how they do in Prescott and Flagstaff before they make a permanent move - those areas are as high or higher in elevation than Denver, CO.  

Flagstaff is beautiful, but cold in the winter with a lot of snow (it dumps and then melts & re-freezes - watch out for black ice), is mainly a college town, and is very cliquey (if you were not born and raised there, you will always be considered an outsider by the locals).  There is a prairie dog colony that is known to carry the plague (yes, bubonic plague, aka: the black death) near Flagstaff (https://arizonadailyindependen..., https://www.usnews.com/news/be...) battling the spread has been an issue for years.  Its an interesting nugget I learned in my micro biology class several years ago; however, other areas such as Denver, CO have the similar plague battles.  Be wary of taking your dogs for hikes near there as it is spread via fleas, and you'll need to keep other pets contained.  Authorities usually notify residents if it is close by and if they are dusting the prairie dog holes. This is a bit unnerving for outdoor lovers.  However, if you are there when there is snow on the ground, there is less to worry about. 

The 'in-between' climate areas like Sedona and Prescott are more rural. Sedona is very artsy fartsy and new agey - a neat place to explore both in town and in nature.  It's very expensive, has horrible traffic on restrictive roads due to the geography, but is very beautiful, not much snow, milder temperature swings, great hiking and outdoor activities such as 4x4 or hot air balloon tours - very touristy.  Check the water quality before heading to slide rock (people can be gross), they have it posted on their website, but with the current pandemic it will probably be closed anyways.  The Prescott quad city area is bigger than Sedona, with more to offer in the way of jobs and education:  Prescott is more expensive, 500 ft higher so has more snow and trees, but still very dry with the current drought.  They have building restrictions, so they are not as actively being developed as other nearby areas, and they are mostly a retirement/college town. A new hospital is being built as we speak to give YRMC some competition.  Not as many educational opportunities as Flagstaff or Phoenix, but Prescott is home to a few community colleges and the famous Emery Riddle Aeronautical University.  There are four seasons there, but much milder winters than Flagstaff. Locals call it Prescit like a biscuit. Prescott Valley (aka: PV) was smaller, but has outgrown Prescott, is more family friendly, but still hefty on retirees.  PV does not have as many mom-and-pop shops as the town went from zero to bursting fairly quickly so it is loaded with big box and chain stores.  Entertainment is surprisingly decent for such a small area (at least it was before the U.S. all shut down), but you'll still need to head to Phoenix to see any major sports leagues. WIND... Oh my, I wish someone would have told me about the wind... in the spring be prepared for lots of wind.  Bouncy house workers comb the skies ready to evacuate children if it gets too hairy.  They actually had a case where the wind picked up a bouncy house full of girl scouts and dumped them out - no one was killed, but several were hurt, and traumatized.  If I would have known about the wind beforehand, I would have chose to be in CA near the ocean because at least you still have the ocean, not just the wind.  Just my two cents.  Dewey and Mayer - property values there are a low for a reason - pollution from mining - EPA has investigated (https://response.epa.gov/site/...) and I have spoken with several residents who were told by the EPA to not allow their dog or children to play outside in the dirt due to high levels of arsenic.  Not good.  Chino also has lower property values, is more rural, with higher crime and much higher teen pregnancy, less jobs, but less rules and more farming/animals/ranches.  Some ranches have closed due to concerns about the water, as when the water table in the aquifer gets low, more arsenic is released, and arsenic levels in well water rise.  Many homes in Chino have wells as the aquifer is right beneath them.  There are a lot of other areas in AZ that are interesting as well.  These are just the ones I am more familiar with.

I still like AZ, but will probably eventually retire elsewhere as you start to feel dried out with the lack of water in the environment over time. I have actually been zapped many times walking past the metal edge on the corners of my walls as the static electricity arced across. (I was still inches away - you could see the electrical current - wild!)  Water shortage is still a major issue.  I do plan to eventually go somewhere where there is more water - like the Pacific Northwest or Colorado. Hope this additional info. helps & God bless.