All Forum Posts by: Hope Hatton

Cindy, I agree with Patrick's comments on SouthEast ABQ as far as tenant base, but the higher than anticipated repair and maintenance costs seem to be true of a lot of the small multifamilies in this area. So no matter where in ABQ you look, avoid the flat roofed pueblo style and the rooftop swamp coolers if you can...also many of those type homes older than 1970s seem to have not only lead based paint, but also asbestos in the walls. They are expensive to remediate when doing any kind of remodeling. Spend the extra money on different types of home inspections before buying and you may save a lot of $$ and headaches later on! I'm not trying to be a complete downer...ABQ is reasonably priced for beginner investors, and the rental market still seems very good even with Covid...rents are kind of on the low side, but people can afford them and a multifamily can still turn a small profit, as long as you avoid properties with those high price tag issues I described.

Can any investors in Albuquerque point me to a reasonable, well rounded, and responsible handyman? Just asking before I try Craigslist, I'm worried that I'll be unable to vet applicants well, and I haven't been here long enough to make contacts (and with Covid, Im not meeting anybody!).

Wow, I'd like to add to this thread, but everyone has already said exactly what I would say!! Besides the rental market being strong, the Bernalillo CARES Act website just extended their online application process thru December, so even existing tenants that are having difficulty with job, rent, or utilities can get aid. 

PS- I will be getting a real estate license in ABQ before the end of the year! taking the NM class next week, then the state license test, then I'll probably upgrade to a premium membership so I can help people more directly! 

Bobby, I just invested in ABQ this past December. I am not an expert there, but I can give you my impressions. The return is OK but not great, but the multifamily home prices are (relatively)cheap, and the rents can easily turn a positive cash flow. The rents here are pretty low, but if you buy at the right price, the tenants can still afford the rent and there isn't too much COVID-related non-payment.

New Mexico's overall COVID numbers are really low and business is getting back on its feet... however, big events in ABQ, such as the state fair and the Balloon Fiesta, have been cancelled, so that's going to affect the coming year's local economy. ABQ also made a lot of deals to attract Netflix to make its headquarters here... but now nothing is being filmed. Who knows what that is going to cost the town? Amazon announced in late May that they would be building a fulfillment center in west ABQ.... but I haven't heard anything since then so I don't know if that deal is delayed, or dead.

Positive: there's a military base so there's always rentals needed there. Negative: the college area might not be such a great investment any more, since we don't know if colleges will ever fully open in the near future. Positive: most of the businesses and tourist areas (Old Town, Biopark) are open again and AirBnB is legal here. Negative: water bills are billed to each property as a single lot; so if you own a multifamily, you cannot get separate water meters at each apartment (but-water is relatively cheap here- I pay the same amount for my fourplex-12to16 people-  as I pay for my water bill in my own single family home in Hawaii).

Most of the fourplexes I have looked at have owners who bought only about 10-15 years ago ago for about $30K and are now able to sell at $200K. They are taking advantage of the hot sellers market. I think the market may be topping out soon, and it might go down over the next year or so.

As far as crime... they really talk about it all the time, but I haven't seen it. Not any. I stay in one of the "so-so areas" of town (near Old Town), but in the "southwest" quarter. It seems to have a negative reputation, but it's fine to me. I don't live here year round though, only a couple months this past year. The fourplex I own is in the "northeast" quarter, in a bad section, I wouldn't want to live there, but its still not horrible and most of the tenants and the people I meet there seem decent enough. I think the reputation of the crime has gotten overblown since the popularity of "Breaking Bad".... if you have ever lived in a large city, it really isn't any different.

Summary- ABQ was on its way up, and still seems to be, as far as real estate market value goes, but not sure how COVID will affect it in the coming year. The ROI on starter investments is OK, but its not the best. Its not in the current top ten if you pay attention to the various BP lists and articles.

Keep your eye on the growth stats and the real estate prices after the high summer season ends,  and get more opinions (hopefully from people smarter than me).

HI Colby, just wondering---what time zone is that meeting going to be in? So that we can all calculate our time to show up :)

I agree with the other two replies. A multifamily is pretty inexpensive in ABQ, and rent is really cheap so I doubt anyone would rent a room at that price. Checking Craigslist was a great idea. If you already have you heart set on a SFH, look for one with a casita, or, after this pandemic is over, you can try Airbnbing your extra rooms. However, we have no idea how long this pandemic and its travel restrictions may last. We also dont know what the future of college will be; it may turn into mostly online learning, greatly reducing the amount of students looking for rooms. There are many duplexes, triplexes, and even affordable fourplexes in the NE ABQ area.

YES! That's it! thank you, thank you, thank you!

Aloha everyone! Several weeks back I was browsing Brandon Turner posts and BP articles on my phone.... and read an article entitled something like "14 Questions I Ask on my Rental Applications" or "12 Questions for Tenant Applications" or something like that. Like most people browsing on my phone, I ended up there by going down a rabbit hole, and could never find the article again. It was full of insightful questions to ask prospective tenants beyond the standard info. I think Brandon Turner wrote the article, and I'm searching all over BP to find it. Does anyone know the article I'm looking for and where to find it?

We use Jose Chavez of Rt 66 Insurance Inc in Albuquerque. 

The cheapest rate they found us was with Safeco Insurance, a subsidiary of Liberty Mutual. We have only owned our NM properties for less than a year, so we haven't had any claims yet to attest to the coverage, but it was the best quote we got, and Mr. Chavez has always been available for questions and prompt paperwork.

I have used Exeter Exchange in San Diego for my clients and with my personal investments. I believe they can be found on Bigger Pickets as well. I found them to be extremely prompt in all their dealings, as well as  sending little reminder notices about 1031 deadlines.