All Forum Posts by: Becca Summers

@Wes Carmichael I starting investing in Utah County and I know the area well from growing up in Utah County. As I've been a Realtor and have gotten to know other areas better I've also started investing in Salt Lake County. For me I like being close to my investments just to drive by every once in a while. The more I do this though the more comfortable I feel going further if the numbers make since. Purchase prices in Utah are high but the ability to have a cash flowing property and have it appreciate have been nice to my net worth. 

I think there are a lot of things you need to firm up before you invest. The hardest part about investing is starting.

@Andy Finsand sounds like you have some pretty aggressive goals.  What areas are you looking now? I agree with Douglas on getting great deals form wholesalers right now.  

I have properties in Lehi, American Fork and West Jordan.

Rusty welcome to bigger pockets. Sounds like you have a good problem to have. What type of investments are you interested in?

@David Williamson Welcome to the group! Afghanistan wow I can't imagine how that is. 

@Jeremy Robinson I heard a quote once about owning properties that said something like, "you'll never regret holding on to a property" I'm sure it was said better than that. The bid debate  I would have is what your long term goal is. Are you okay owning properties all over? If so getting the team in place to manage might be the thing to do. Most property mangers in Utah charge 8%-10% of rents to manage properties for you. There is also usually a placement fee of each new tenant. 

You could reach out to different property managers and ask what they would think about doing the kitchen however being built in 99 the kitchen shouldn't be to bad. A way to think about it is if you spend $3,000 on the cabinets (what about counters) then upped rent $100 a month it would take you 30 months or 2.5 years with no vacancy.  

You should reach out to @William Hochstedler and get info on his property manger.

@Steve Theobald That is true Magna would be "c" however I've done a lot of work in Magna and I feel much more comfortable there by myself than I do in Rose Park so maybe I'd call that a "C-"

"A" to me is an area that the homes rents quickly, I get multiple qualified applicants and most of the homes are owner occupied. Homes are better taken care of and yards look nice.

"B" to me is an area that has more rentals in the neighborhood less pried in the area, I still get lots of applicants but I have to screen more.

"C" would be an area where the applicant pool has a lot of "red flags" There are more broken windows and curb appeal is lacking. 

How would you rate A, B and C?

I would set at least a 10% contingency fund. It never hurts to have more money available. 

To be a bedroom it has to have a window, heating, door and a closet. However I've heard in other areas where square footage is tight the closet is not required. The same room has a door to the back and basement? I think they are pushing it calling it a bedroom but selling a 1 bedroom is hard. Some master bedrooms have access it the back yard.

I would consider it a 1 bedroom with and office. 

@Christian Clark You're best bet to estimating ARV is looking at a lot of houses. The value of a home is determined by a lot of different things like @Jay Dewberry mentioned. The better you know your market the better you'll be at calculating ARV. There are sites like Zillow that have an automated system valuing homes but they can be very far off because one home is on a busy street and one isn't but they compare them anyway. Or a split entry is compared to a rambler. 

@Alex Jaime do you have any experience with Utah? The reason I ask is the Salt Lake and Provo market have sub markets inside them. What would your budget be and what are your plans to manage the property?

Provo there is a large demand for them but you'll want to keep the house size small as the job market can't support the higher end rentals. If you keep it with sub 2000 square feet you'll hit the sweet spot for Provo. You'll get the best deal going to South West area but the rental rates drop slightly.

Salt Lake has higher rental rates but the purchase price will be also be higher. You can get a great deal in Rose Park which is the closes thing we have to a "c" class area but really it's just a poor area. The homes are very small and some can even be picked up under $100k every once in a while. It gets expensive on the East side, Sugar House is a very desired area that has great rent rates and low vacancy but high purchase price. 

Me personally, I have rentals in Utah County and Salt Lake. I like the stability of my Utah County rentals they are in "a" areas. My Salt Lake County rental has the best rental rate vs purchase price and it's in a "b" area.

I say take the time to check out both because they are very different and have good point in either direction. Or at least do more research on what type of properties you want to own.