All Forum Posts by: Arushi V.

Very nice! How is Casa Grande's water supply?  Do most people commute into Phoenix?

Hi Guys, what do you think of investing in Casa Grande? Planning to buy a SFH, buy and hold with a positive cashflow. Please share your experiences. Any other areas are good to invest in?

Hey @Balachandar Duraiswamy! I would have to agree with @David E Fitzgerald IV, Casa Grande is a great up-and-coming market. There are multiple companies investing in Casa Grande, building large office campuses, factories, and plants. Purchasing a SFR in Casa Grande is a lower price point than the Metro Phoenix area with a similar ROI! Hope that helps, feel free to reach out!

 Shiloh, I absolutely LOVE your posts here! This reminds me of the often significant difference between 'book knowledge' and experiential knowledge. For someone who doesn't know the Casa Grande market for example (and who may be looking to invest) they might look at a 'book knowledge' post and decide to look elsewhere. Whereas, when you have boots on the ground (combined with data) you have a much clearer picture of what's really going on. What a critical and valuable lesson to learn! 

Btw, I almost bought that "castle house" in downtown. My friend Casey has in under contract on seller finance at 0% interest. The rehab costs to just to rich for my blood but I totally agree with you on Casa Grande!

Love it. 

 No.  As stated before, CG is not on my list of areas I would invest in personally.  I tend to go with the path of progress, and not outlaying areas that are seemingly disconnected from larger cities.  After reading your comments, I did a quick search for MF in CG and found a triplex that is available right now for $398K (on 12th street), which seems like an attractive acquisition price.  However, after browsing the listing, I also learned that the rents are $625 per month, per unit.  With rental rates that low, you couldn't even cover the mortgage payment on that, let alone the expense, or any room for cash flow.  Sure, there may be room to escalate rents, but you would almost need to double the rents in order for this to be a favorable deal all around.  So, I stick by original assessment.  Again, to be clear, I am not saying this is a bad investment for people to explore, and I am sure there are deals out there to be had.  But I focus on the formula that has proven true more times than not for my personal investing, and investor clients, who ask me for my opinion.  

As an example, around the same time as this conversation, I was posting about San Tan Valley as an alternative to CG due to the path of progress versus outlaying areas like CG.  Back then (a few years ago), you could get a good sized 3/2 built within the last 10-15 years, for around $175K.  NOW, you would be hard pressed to find that same property for under $375K.  The area is booming, and starting to spill over into areas like Florence and Coolidge (where there is also a hybrid semi-truck plant in the works, btw).

So, make sure that you aren't distracted by the shiny cheap acquisition price.  Through due diligence, make sure that you are evaluating rental rates (accurate rates, NOT profoma), and filling in the missing fields for other expenses that owners and listing agents often leave out in order to inflate their cap rates.  Just because the City of Phx rental rate is approaching $2K doesn't mean you will get that in CG.  Just as Phx rates don't touch anything in Scottsdale....and so forth.  Make sure the numbers work all around.  And make sure to come back and share with us how it work out.  I would LOVE to hear a success story in an outlaying area that I can share with others who inquire about the opportunities there.  So, keep in touch!  And PM me if you have any questions, or want to spitball some ideas or go over evaluations.

@Shiloh Lundahl thanks for your advice on CG. I was recently informed about that area myself. What areas would be best to avoid generally in CG as i am not familiar with the area. I'm looking for anything B- and better preferably for long term buy and hold... thanks!

@Cara Lonsdale

Hi Cara, i was recently told about Casa Grande and hear that a new electric vehicle plant is opening there. Any thoughts on how casa grande has shaped up over the years? Is it still slowly developing, or a place to avoid? thanks!