All Forum Posts by: Braxton Palmer

Thank you all for the detailed feedback and personal stories! I did some on the ground research and asked a few neighbors, some of which have lived in the neighborhood for over 50 years, all said they've never had issues with flooding, even in Monsoon season the street flows a bit but is heavily supported by storm water drains and never near the homes. I got an initial estimate and it came in way higher than I was hoping, my agent dug a little further and spoke to FEMA underwriters and they corrected his quote and reduced it by 4x!! needless to say, the flood insurance is now under budget and fits within my overall insurance budget (after getting a few additional discounts on my home insurance quote ;) )

The deal now definitely pencils for me. I get that it could be a matter when but the home is far enough from the street that is troublesome that I am fairly confident it will be fine. This home will be a personal residence (which I will be house hacking with 2 roommates), then an airbnb or rental in a few years with great supporting comps and favorable cash flows. Thanks again everyone for all your valuable insight!!

Hi Mason - it costs $400 to obtain an elevation certificate that provides insurance cos with the exact amount of feet above the BFE. If its above roughly 4 ft that reduces the insurance premium to the lowest amount. I am contemplating doing that if the premium comes in way higher because this BFE may not be determined yet for this particular neighborhood.

Hi Michael,

Did your clients decline purchasing flood insurance because they were comfortable with the associated risk or did they purchase it anyways?

Hey guys! I am currently under contract to buy a home in Arizona. The home within close distance to a street that is designated as a flood plain AE which has a 1% of flood annually and is high- risk. Have any of you received quotes for flood insurance? I am asking my ins agent to provide but have heard quotes as low as $500 annually or $10,000 depending on how high above the home is of the Base Flood Elevation (BFE). I got a quote for a survey to get a flood elevation certificate but its $400... not sure if thats worth it yet. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Interested to find out how many investors on BP that invest in and around the Phoenix MSA. Would be great to connect and learn more about the successes, roadblocks, issues you face as an investor in a market like Phoenix as prices and rents rapidly increase. 

I appreciate all the feedback. Definitely the direction I was leaning and will implement as part of my rental strategy. Always helpful to see other peoples takes on it!

Hey BP members. Would appreciate some insight here. I have the ability to buy a 2-3 bedroom home where I live in Phoenix AZ. I have a few friends that would want to be my roommates and pay a fair, market rental rate for the home I buy split up between us. I am wondering if I should treat them as I would any other tenant such as asking for Security Deposits, Signing a formal lease agreement w/ terms, verifying their incomes (to make sure I can get paid and friendship doesn't go sour) and holding up the lease agreement? Anyone else have experiences house hacking with people you know? How did you handle that? Much appreciated!

Hey Ana,

I just got off the phone with a friend of mine who owns his own mortgage company. He said with rates being at historic lows that credit scores in the 700s are getting the best rates. He advised me not to wait either as it is a great time to buy and lock in a low APR. If you can qualify with a low DTI and high credit score your terms as well as your total loan amount will be at a great level. I'd advise going to your bank where you have accounts and asking them these questions to get hard answers for your area.