New to Phoenix - Looking to Network and Provide Value

[Byron K.]

Hello BP!

Been on the forums for years but recently moved to Phoenix and figured this is the perfect time to get started on the right foot. Hoping to meet other investors, agents, GC, and other professionals in the industry. I have not made an investment yet but itching to get started. Interested in Fix n Flips and Rentals. Happy to offer any skills I possess for mentorship opportunities!

[Wes Blackwell]

@Byron K.

Hey Byron! Welcome to BiggerPockets! You're in the right place!

The challenge when you first move to the Phoenix Metro Area is that it is a HUGE market... it takes over an hour to drive from one side of town to the other and that's with no traffic!

The best thing to do when getting started in a new area is to start with some market research... google "Phoenix Real Estate" and read almost every news article and page you come across on the first five pages of results or so. That will really bring you up to speed with what's going on in the area.

Second, connecting on here with local experts (investors and agents) is going to greatly shorten your learning curve, because we're dealing with real estate every single day and having conversations with sellers, buyers, and everyone else in between. Offering to buy someone a cup of coffee to pick their brain for an hour can really give you a lot of insight.

When first getting started, one investment you might want to consider is purchasing your own home. It's often better to be paying down your own mortgage rather than someone else's, and if you do it right and buy a home with a casita, rent out rooms, or buy a 2-4 unit residential building (duplex, triplex, fourplex) you'll significantly cut down your monthly obligation to the mortgage and that will lead to increased savings and a future full rental property for you in the future. Best thing is you can do it with as little as 3.5% down.

For example, I bought a personal residence in Sacramento, CA in October of 2016 for $260k. It was dated and needed some TLC. We painted it, remodeled both bathrooms, and painted the kitchen cabinets along with a few other things like replacing the AC and pool pump... we did this with only 5% down...

Now, the home is easily worth $350k ($100k of equity) and we're able to rent it for $2,300 when the PITI (mortgage payment) is only $1,600 or so. Major win for us!

That's just one example, and there are many others to read about on here. Just an easy way to get started.

Other than that, be sure to soak up all the books and podcasts you can on here, and learn as much about the different investing options as possible. Soon you'll discover what will be the best strategy for you, and then you can go about taking steps to make that vision a reality for yourself.

Best of luck on your journey, and I hope this information helps! If you ever have any specific questions about the Phoenix market, feel free to reach out or post here on the forums and you'll surely get your question answered and get pointed in the right direction!