what do you think about investing in multifamily in Idaho?

[Dolf Al Emara]

Hi investors,

I am an investor from California and would like to invest out of state for the first time in my life. I am familiar with SF bay area and LA area markets. however, I know little bit about Nampa, Eagle, Boise, and Mountain Home areas in Idaho. they look good on papers, but what should I be looking for as a market research before committing to buying? I am starting with buying a FourPlex in Either Nampa or Mountain Home. 

for the seasoned, out of state investors, what things I need to look for before buying to avoid surprises in the future? my main concern is, I want to gain little bit on all four aspects of RE profits, i.e. appreciation, cash flow, loan pay down and tax. 

the other concern, I see there are plenty of subdivision under construction in the Nampa area and rapid price increase in properties. should I still buy in Nampa before it's too late and capture some appreciation? or just buy in Mountain Home (not much building going on, not sure about appreciation there)? 

Nampa population 2020: 96,000. 

Mountain Home population: 16,000. 

I am all ears. 

cheers!

Dolf  

[Sean Thompson]

Hey @Dolf Al Emara,

I have been a resident of this area for 10+ years, and own 1 rental property here in Boise. Please take what I say with a grain of salt as I would strongly encourage you to reach out to individuals who have kept an eye on this market for years (@Jim Paulson, @Shannon Robnett). 

On paper Mountain Home I believe is part of the Boise MSA but I personally would not consider it. You probably see that it is only a 40 minute drive to Boise, which in some parts of the country might seem like a suburb of the city but here it is not. Even with our rapid growth you can still find an affordable living situation a lot closer to where the jobs are in Boise/Meridian/Nampa. Although the projections say our growth will sprawl that direction towards Mountain Home, we are not there yet. So what I am saying is that if you are going to invest in Mountain Home I would become familiar with their economy which is primarily based around Mountain Home Air Force base, and be comfortable with the returns you get from this area while our 'sprawl" from Boise to Mountain Home is still a few years/decade out. I would encourage you to look more towards Nampa/Caldwell if appreciation is your goal. 

If anyone has an opposing point of view I would like to hear it, as I myself would like to be continually educated on our area.

Sean