All Forum Posts by: Chris S.

Investor in Anchorage here, sent you a pm. Waaaaaay to much to type but you can give me a call whenever. 

Chase if you are travel hacking. You can rack up a crazy amount of points and cards meeting minimum spending. Business cards/personal are transferable and you and your spouse can each get 2-3 for business etc. My wife and I flew business class from Alaska to Poland, Croatia, Ireland all for free using points we racked up in just a few months. We currently also have a trip to Thailand planned using the same system. It's a lot of work, but seriously worth it.

Hey there, local investor here. Condos in Anchorage can be a good investment for cashflow, and you may even be able to get those kind of returns but you will have to be picky. A lot of the condos that they have on the East side have high HOAs which will kill your cash flow. I second what @Connor Dunham was saying about SFR being the better investment for long term buy and holds, but to each their own.It really depends on what you are looking for. I personally invest in small multifamily, and have had great success with that for cashflow at least, what I was looking for when I started.

I actually prefer to buy in the winter for a couple reasons. First, prices tend to drop around the winter because most people list in the summer, and if their place still hasn't sold by winter then you can generally negotiate more, at least in my experience. Second, a lot of places around here are either poorly insulated or overly insulated. This is not as prevalent in condos, but it is still a lot easier to tell during the winter. You don't want huge icicles hanging off your roof or ice sheets forming and jacking up your roof. Shouldn't be an issue in newer places, but you never know. Some builders are better than others. 

 Finding renters in the winter can be difficult, but its def not impossible. Often JBER gets people PCsing in November, and with you being East side you should be able to fill it with a military family pretty easily. Assuming its a good looking place of course. Always get professional photos taken. Moving in the winter sucks but people do it. 

I wouldn't totally take foreclosures off the list during the winter, but I would def be hesitant about them due to pipes freezing etc. Just make sure to do your due diligence. 

Be wary of property management up here. There are a lot of really bad managers, and very few decent to good ones. If you want specifics you can pm me. 

Any other questions let me know!

Have you tried CoHo in Anchorage? I think they are cross state

Hey Mark,

I am also a local investor in Anchorage. I agree that you should look into a fourplex for our current market if you are looking to house hack. Even if you plan on doing the lawn care/snow shoveling yourself Definitely factor that in to purchase price for the future since you will get tired of shoveling snow, I know I did very quickly. 

There are some excellent fourplexes in south anchorage/midtown/UMED and Eagle River that pop up occasionally. You probably wont make any money off of them, but you should break even. Assuming you buy right of course. If I were you I would even look into a 203k loan for some of the crappier fourplexes in the areas you are looking in. 

I wouldn't completely dismiss North/East side of the city though. There are still some good areas and you can still get great tenants. 

As far as BP goes, to me it is a little to early to assume what will happen. Like you said BP is pulling out, but the oil assets/jobs will still be here, just with another company. 

If you have any questions feel free to shoot me a message, I will help out where I can. 

Do you have a home warranty? I know they are expensive for a fourplex, 2400ish I believe, but would be worth it for when your boiler does go out especially if it is on its last legs. I have one on a 4plex we recently bought that was horribly managed and it has saved me a crap load of money. I know they replace water heaters and I am pretty sure they will on a boiler too.

I always tell tenants that I am a partial owner and just handle the management. If we ever have any disagreements I tell them I have to speak with my partner about it. I then go home and ask my cat, and she always takes my side. 

I actually remember seeing that house post on the MLS haha. Glad you got it and got a good deal out of it. Congrats on the house, Eagle River is always super easy to fill with good tenants. Def a good buy

Hey Jeremy,

A couple of quick questions for you. 

First, who installed the baseboard trim and hit the water lines? I feel that was done by a professional then they should have paid for the damages,

Second, how often do you get your boiler inspected? It should be yearly (I know you haven't owned it long) to ensure that small leaks/defaults get fixed before they become a big issue.

Third, do you require your tenants to get renters insurance? If not then I would recommend you do so, you can even have them list you as one of the insured parties so that if a water backup does happen again you can file it under their insurance as well as yours (if you so chose) Check with the plans to see what they cover of course, not all cover water backup and you often have to ask to have it added. 

I have had a few issues but thankfully nothing that bad. A big thing I do with my tenants is make sure that they tell me when anything is even the slightest bit off. A drop in water pressure, sounds n the walls, etc...This helps to catch problems before they become huge issues. 

Hope that helps!

I will check them both out! Thanks!