Advice on real estate market

[Ajay A.]

Hello Idahoans!,

I'm a newbie investor to the great state of Idaho. Need your advice on the Real Estate market in the Treasure Valley. Most of the properties on Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com seem to be a poor deal and gone quickly e.g 2 properties I analyzed using BP rental calculator had cash flow of $200 to $300 as a pure rental. I'm looking to buy and hold rental properties but I would prefer house hacking. 

Would you say its time to look elsewhere for good deals? (e.g. Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Caldwell?)

Anyone know if Pocatello is a good place for buy n hold rentals? What about Caldwell?

I analyzed one 4plex in Pocatello which gave me a cash flow of $500, but I stay about 4 hours away, so I will have to hire property management. I'm just not feeling confident right now investing in the Treasure Valley seeing prices that seem excessive, but still gone in a week.

Hoping to hear from people who have much more experience than me. I'd be grateful for any feedback

[Jeff Rappaport]

@Ajay A. I invest in a number of areas in Idaho.  More specifically Pocatello, Idaho Falls, Caldwell, Nampa, Meridian, Boise, Mountain Home and Eagle.  I live in Utah but started investing in Idaho because income property is going for about half of what I would pay here.  I have wholesaled 18 or so multi-family properties in Pocatello alone over the last 14 months.  

Here's what I can tell you:  The rental market is strong in basically all of the areas I mentioned above.  You can get a cap rate of 9% or better in the smaller cities like Mountain Home and Pocatello.  I am not a big fan of Idaho Falls right now.  Too many vacancies and a lot of crap properties.  If you invest in Pocatello or Mountain Home you will find great cash flow properties.  They will be typically older, need some updating and will be in the lower income areas (no war zones just blue collar neighborhoods).  I personally like them for buy and hold since the markets there are very stable.  They don't go up or down dramatically.  Rents are on the rise and the vacancy factor is small.  

If you want to invest in the bigger cities or Treasure Valley area you will pay more for the property and the cash flow will be less (in most cases).  However, the rents are on the rise and you will probably see more appreciation in these areas.  You may also see more drop in values if the market corrects.  

It comes down to what you are trying to accomplish and what is your comfort level.  Most of the properties I have sold in Pocatello are to investors that live in Utah.  They cash flow enough so you can hire a property management company to deal with the day to day issues.  I personally think investors are making mistakes buying income property that don't cash flow enough to afford property management.  I also don't understand the idea of being able to go to the property.  I have not been to Idaho in 25 years.  

Investors in Idaho don't know what they have in regards to income property.  I have a triplex in Mountain Home for sale that brings in $1650 per month that I am selling for $125K.  I have a 4 plex in Pocatello that brings in $1580 per month for $110K.  Those properties in most areas of Utah would sell for $285K+!  

If you have some questions pm me so we can chat.  I may be able to answer your questions more specifically.  Good luck in your search!