All Forum Posts by: Doug McVinua

@Jack Stone The most commonly used Lease in Arizona contains a provision (line 65) that Refundable Deposits shall not be used towards the last month's rent.

The highest volume Eviction attorney in the greater Phoenix area is Dr. Evictor. I use them when needed and they always perform. Denise (attorney) is very active in the property management community and the firm only does landlord work, no tenants.

@Andrew De Michaelis Welcome to BP and the great community that exists to help everyone!

The Phoenix, AZ market is suffering from a very competitive buyer pool and a shortage of inventory to meet the needs. Demand is high for the small number of available multi-family properties. I have focused on the fringes a bit more and have been able to score some decent properties for investors. Of course, we are doing value add projects to improve the numbers. Some of the properties are multi-family and some are single-family.

The biggest regret most investors I work with have is that they didn't purchase enough property, they held off and now the same property has appreciated significantly in value and rents.

@Kejia Tang In Arizona the Lease coveys with the property so the buyer is legally obligated to honor the terms of the lease in place. Rarely are they long-term leases (more than 1 year) and generally, they are near the end or even month to month so the buyer has options once they own it. I know of no way to screen a tenant when assuming a lease as the landlord-tenant rules (lease) are already in place. Of course, at the end of the lease, it's fair game and I often find it best to change out the tenant as we might be in a value add, raising rent and just wanting to start over. The disclosures often allow us to get a tenant ledger so we can see the payment history and help us moving forward.

Due diligence is very important on the front end. As a Property Manager, Broker, and often Buyers agent I attend the inspections, evaluate the condition of the property, each unit, the disclosure information, the current rents, the projected rent, etc so the buyer can make an informed decision. The strategy works and often in a few months we have made huge gains on the property, the rent roll, and the return. Sometimes it can be soon, it all depends on the leases we assume at purchase. I have one right now where most of the tenants are month to month and the buyer will likely make wholesale changes quickly. We will issue non-renewal notices and turn the units over for considerable higher rent.

@Kejia Tang The most commonly used contract in Arizona is the Arizona Association of Realtor contract, developed and kept current by the Association. It's a solid contract that covers the common disclosures in a purchase, and then we add the Income Addendum which covers the lease, move-in checklist, rent roll, etc for an investment property.

Very few will ever provide the screening documents, in my case it is against the agreement I have to be able to screen parties. It would be a violation of the agreement and could result in losing my privileges to pull credit, screen for criminal and eviction, etc.

@George Henry In Arizona an owner can self-manage hundreds of properties if you desire. Non-owner management becomes much more limited. A few other caveats: 

As mentioned by @Patti Robertson if you live out of state you must have an Arizona-based statutory agent. (Someone to receive notices on your behalf)

Residential income properties need a Transaction Privilege license in most locations (Rental Tax)

Property Management is a specialty in the industry and it's very possible your sister has her license with a broker that doesn't allow her to do property management? If this is the case the items your sister can help you with at your rental would be very limited without bridging the gap to doing Property Management in Arizona and potentially getting sideways with her broker or the Department of Real Estate.

Happy to answer any further questions.

@Hal Cranmer Dr. Evictor is by far the leading Eviction attorney in Arizona. They are based in Phoenix and have a very solid record of success. They are extremely knowledgeable regarding any moratoriums restrictions, they know the statutes, know many of the judges and courts. I use them as needed and find them affordable and effective, haven't lost one yet!

@Jaime Martinez Jr In general the Phoenix, AZ market is the broadest with the greatest employment growth and diversity of employment in the state. Not to say the other markets don't have strengths, Flagstaff and Sedona are beautiful, Tucson has the University, etc but in general Phoenix is over 75% of the state's population and has so much to offer. Employment is like a rocket ship in many sectors.

Phoenix has a housing shortage, the homebuilders built fewer units between 2010 and 2020 than normal so the supply (inventory) is tight. It is expected to take a few years for the new construction to actually catch up to the population growth. Arizona is one of the leading inbound states regarding population growth and the last stats I saw CA was 19% of that inbound traffic.

When you look at the Phoenix market we have many opportunities that tend to work based on the investor, the investor's wants, and needs. Nothing is a one size fits all, it's just not that easy. The outlying areas tend to offer newer, more affordable options while others enjoy the muti-family in the core. It's not right or wrong overall, it's what's right for you.

The key to it is understanding what you want and then finding the spot in the market that best fits. We manage a diverse portfolio from a single condo, single family, 4-Plex, up into small apartment complexes. Having that diversity of portfolio can be beneficial to understand the sector and match it to an investor.

@Gavin Welch The demand for rental property in Gilbert, AZ is very high! I ran comps yesterday for a smaller 3 bedroom and the market is at $2100.00 per month for a long-term unfurnished rental. Gilbert is a hub of activity and will continue to be so as the Williams Field Airport employment corridor grows out over the next few years.

@Michael Paccione Arizona is doing great! All new subdivisions are required to guarantee a 100-year water supply before the Department of Real Estate will approve the subdivision. Another interesting anecdote is that much of the land being displayed into rooftops is agriculture and rooftops use less water than agriculture. Portions of Pinal County are in Water Management areas and it's expected that at some point in the future approvals may become more difficult for new subdivisions. We have thousands of homes being built in an effort to keep up with demand but losing ground in regards to the population growth we are experiencing. 

As a broker and property manager, we are finding Arizona properties for investors that work! We have multiple bay area investors in the market that have purchased properties and we continue to manage the same properties.

@Damon James Nexa is legit, they have a fairly strong presence in Arizona. I don't happen to personally use them but I know of some of the owners and loan officers. They seem to ruffle a few feathers now and then but I don't hear much negative about them. If the program looks good I wouldn't be any more concerned than I would be with any other lender, they are generally only as good as the loan officer you are working with.