Investing in Oklahoma City

[Ray Tapay]

Hello seasoned OKC investors. I've been researching investing out of state in OKC and after reading tons of forum posts on the city I came up with some questions just to give me a better picture. Would also love to link up with investor friendly real estate agents so I can hopefully start out this investing journey. Would probably need recommendations on lenders too.

Thank you soooo much and I appreciate the feedback.

1. 1. I've been running numbers on 3-bedroom houses. Any advantage to purchasing 2/4 bedroom? Does a higher number of bathrooms give me an edge in getting tenants.
2. 2. Are condos a popular investment choice?
3. 3. In my purchase price range of 120-140k I see the rental price being around $800-900. Are the $1000K per month rental homes harder to rent? Trying to decide if bumping my purchase price to get higher rents is a good decision.
4. 4. For a newbie, what level of repairs (5k vs 10 vs 20k etc etc) should I shoot for especially being that I'm out of state? My thoughts are it should be kept low as I start out?
5. 5. Looks like in OKC tenants cover ALL utilities - except taxes? Some rentals don't have appliances?
6. 6. Some properties for sale are renovated and taxes are a low number. I'm suspecting taxes would go up after a re-assessment?
   
7. 7. I'm thinking as a first out of state rental having a PM would be a good choice, correct?

[Will Fraser]

Originally posted by @Ray Tapay:

Hello seasoned OKC investors. I've been researching investing out of state in OKC and after reading tons of forum posts on the city I came up with some questions just to give me a better picture. Would also love to link up with investor friendly real estate agents so I can hopefully start out this investing journey. Would probably need recommendations on lenders too.

Thank you soooo much and I appreciate the feedback.

1. 1. I've been running numbers on 3-bedroom houses. Any advantage to purchasing 2/4 bedroom? Does a higher number of bathrooms give me an edge in getting tenants.
2. 2. Are condos a popular investment choice?
3. 3. In my purchase price range of 120-140k I see the rental price being around $800-900. Are the $1000K per month rental homes harder to rent? Trying to decide if bumping my purchase price to get higher rents is a good decision.
4. 4. For a newbie, what level of repairs (5k vs 10 vs 20k etc etc) should I shoot for especially being that I'm out of state? My thoughts are it should be kept low as I start out?
5. 5. Looks like in OKC tenants cover ALL utilities - except taxes? Some rentals don't have appliances?
6. 6. Some properties for sale are renovated and taxes are a low number. I'm suspecting taxes would go up after a re-assessment?
   
7. 7. I'm thinking as a first out of state rental having a PM would be a good choice, correct?

 Hey Hey @Ray Tapay!  

1. I've been running numbers on 3-bedroom houses. Any advantage to purchasing 2/4 bedroom? Does a higher number of bathrooms give me an edge in getting tenants.

--> Nope, no real advantages for your standard rental.  IF you are going to do something niche (like target Oakdale school-age family renters, Executive rentals, or Section 8 rentals having a 4th bed isn't likely to push your rent value up much over a 3 bed and most of the time adding a 4th bedroom into the space of a natural 3 bedroom home doesn't help your value at all.

2. Are condos a popular investment choice?

--> No they are not.  They exist and are available here, but it is an inefficient ownership structure for a market with such low real estate values already.

3. In my purchase price range of 120-140k I see the rental price being around $800-900. Are the $1000K per month rental homes harder to rent? Trying to decide if bumping my purchase price to get higher rents is a good decision.

--> It totally depends on the product.  If you are rocking a spiffy, clean, and trendy $1,000 (or even $1,250) per month rental it can fly off the shelves.  If you have a mediocre $1,000 product then it can take a LOT of time to move.  So, I'd stay out of the "middle" and hit whatever price-point you decide to focus and go for a focuses niche within that niche.

4. For a newbie, what level of repairs (5k vs 10 vs 20k etc etc) should I shoot for especially being that I'm out of state? My thoughts are it should be kept low as I start out?
-->The more cosmetic the better for ALL experience levels ironically. 

5. Looks like in OKC tenants cover ALL utilities - except taxes? Some rentals don't have appliances?

--> Yep, most of the time that's true. Nobody pays your taxes directly for you, fortunately the rents cover those and then some :) 

6. Some properties for sale are renovated and taxes are a low number. I'm suspecting taxes would go up after a re-assessment?

--> Yessir you are correct.  The county is getting better and better at strategic reassessments these days and you can expect your taxes to be at the 1.12% level or thereabouts in short order after a purchase.

7. I'm thinking as a first out of state rental having a PM would be a good choice, correct?

--> it's possible to self-manage OOS, but by no means is self-management your only choice.  If you go the pro route I'd be honored to serve, otherwise self-management can be a strategic choice when you have the right locals on your team!