Investing in the Last Frontier

[Christopher Paulson]

Hi All!

My wife and I just moved back to Kodiak, Alaska after being away for about 10 years. We closed on an 8-plex recently and are interested in more real estate investing here. Are there any particular strategies you've seen that don't work as well in remote environments around Alaska? Has cost of materials and labor been restrictive in flipping or doing BRRR investing? Thanks for your input!

[Michael Rogers]

Labor is a big drawback... quality contractors tend to either be busy and booked or expensive (or both). If you can do most of the work DIY, it will be to your advantage. I'm not sure about Kodiak, but in the areas I've done work, materials aren't overly problematic compared to skilled labor.

It might be advantageous to develop a relationship with contractors you can count on. I needed some minor painting done- and ended up calling 5 outfits before I found one even willing to do the work. He did fantastic work at a good price and is the first call now but it took 2 months to find him. It was a huge pain on what should have been a simple task. I do mechanical and electrical work, which is a good thing since they are even harder to find.