All Forum Posts by: Jake Kain

Quote from @Ron Hollingsworth:

I used Highland on my last flip, however they do not disclose their prices to the public as they only sell to contractors. 

Also where are you buying interior doors?

I believe you just need to make an account with them. My wife is an interior designer, neither of us are contractors. They gave us the full catalog once we made our account with them.

For doors - prehung/slabs/interior and exterior - Window Depot or big box stores like home depot/lowes depending on the need. Both will do Veteran discounts for me, which is nice.

Quote from @Ron Hollingsworth:

Looking for a source for Kitchen cabinets in the Phoenix area.  I don't need installation, just cabinets, preferably at wholesale or contractor prices.

RTA Kitchen & Bathroom Wholesale Cabinets | Highland Cabinetry
We have used them multiple times. Decent quality for a good price. Assembled

Quote from @Lily Wang:

I'm planning my first flip now. I've noticed that the all white wall +white cabinet+black hardwares is really popular. most of the new constructions that are selling fast are using this. 

I've decieded to use white shaker cabinet (maybe two tones)+black haredware+oak color floor. but not pretty sure about the wall color. if I do pure white/extra white for the wall. two things that i'm concerned about. first, there is no contrast bewteen the cabinet and the wall; second, a 70's house is low ceiling, less natural light, texured on the ceiling (kind of porpcorn ceiling). I doubt it might looks cheap.

what are your recommendations for the wall color in this situaiton? could you please advice? Thank you. 

Hi Lily,

There has been a lot of great advice in here so far. We've done white/white in flips and our airbnb and it can look very clean. The only thing I would caution is make sure you are getting paint swatches before committing to the color. There are hundreds of shades of white, make sure to find one that doesn't look yellowish against your cabinets and has similar warmth to your floor color. Check in all lighting conditions as well. Here's a shot of our kitchen from our airbnb with similar color scheme you just described. The image quality is poor because of the upload, but you get the idea!

Quote from @Account Closed:

Quote from @Walter Moneypenny:

In the ARMLS (Phoenix Area) and MLSSAZ (Tucson Area) there is not an ability to pull absentee owners from those MLS systems. There are lists available (not free) mined from the County Assessors that are offered by third parties. The Maricopa County Assessor website has limited export functionality (most likely by design) that can allow you to search rentals from their site.

Pima County has better downloads available that can be searched. 

Thank you Walter!

Yes - you can pull lists through Monsoon, which is available if you have an ARMLS subscription. Monsoon will allow you to filter by "owner intended use" so as long as the owner has registered with the county as a rental, you can pull a list of rentals.

Quote from @Jeremiah Alton:

I love real estate. I have been interested in it my entire life but have never fully dabbled into investing. Well, it is past time for me. I am working on going all in this year. 

I am based out of Phoenix and plan to work here. Looking at both flips and BRRRR.

My goals are to grow a network and then have deals lined up in the pipeline. 

Welcome Jeremiah!

There are some great meetups in the Phoenix area that can help you rub shoulders with other investors doing what you want to do. Also a great way to get referrals for growing your team! Networking and getting in the right rooms will be a crucial step. Hope to see you out there in the future.

@Martin Koch Welcome to the forums!

I agree with Devin, I think a local Realtor is the most important place to start for a team member that is boots on the ground, but I don't think it's AS important that your lender is local to you or the property. A lot of lenders are licensed in multiple states, since most lending (traditional) guidelines are national. I do personally like using a local lender. I am big on networking and having relationships that you can build face to face. However, what I think would be most beneficial to you is a lender well versed in working with investors and/or is an investor themselves. That way they can go the extra mile in helping you identify products best suited for your situation as you continue to grow. Let me know if you need any contacts here in AZ. Happy to help!

@MiChelle Murdock

I will echo what @Mason Weiss said and would personally stay away from Scottsdale. Too many variables that are out of your control. Not to mention, the cost barrier to entry is much higher than the other areas. I have a short term rental in Tempe, 2 miles from Mill Ave and ASU that does very well. That said - I bought it in 2019 and my interest rate is 2.25%. It would be much tighter if I had purchased in today's market with today's rates.

Chandler and Gilbert are viable options. I have other investor friends with short term rentals in these areas that do very well, especially the size of home you have described. While location is certainly an important factor, there are a lot more variables to running a successful STR that will help you stand out from the others in your area and keep you profitable.

Do you plan on managing yourself or hiring a property manager? Keep in mind that property managers for STRs are much higher than that of LTRs (I have seen anything from 15-25%) since they are a lot more hands on. You mentioned "passive" income which can be highly subjective when running STRs, whether you are self managing or not. Just wanted to let you know that this niche will require more of your time than other more "passive" strategies. But it's worth it!!

Good luck! Please post any further questions. This forum hosts a wealth of knowledge and a lot of investors willing to help.

Quote from @Christina Baliva:

Great information from everyone, thank you! As I hone in on my investment strategy, I keep returning to flipping and BRRR. My husband use to remodel homes for a living, so we have that experience we can utilize in our future. @Cade Edwards, I agree that taking time to evaluate our decision moving forward is key.

In terms of flipping and BRRR, what are the best ways to evaluate the Phoenix market for this type of strategy?

Hi Christina!

You've gotten a handful of really great advice so far. The only thing I would like to add/reiterate is finding others doing the same thing you are trying to do. Explore different meetups around the valley especially those aimed at the niches you want. I know AZREIA runs a fix & flip subgroup, although I have not been recently. There seems to be a lack of niche meetups for STRs, something I am exploring/considering as we look at our goals with our FREEdM meetup heading into 2024. If you find any, let's compare notes!

Sounds like you and your Husband have a great foundation for fix & flip/BRRRRs. I also would recommend live in flips, as a starting point. That has been my wife and I's bread and butter since we started. We've been able to either keep properties as long term rentals, short term rentals and even sold a couple, taking advantage of the tax breaks on the profit since it was a primary. It's also given us more experience and confidence to do a couple traditional fix & flips over the last 12 months with hard money and private money.

To answer your last question about analyzing the Phoenix market, get familiar with the Cromford Report. They are hands down the best resource for our market. I know they are working on providing their data to investors but I am not sure if that is available yet, so you may need to find someone with MLS access with a Cromford Report subscription to team up with.

Happy to help if you have any additional questions or want to reach out!

We are a local meetup group of financial freedom and real estate investment enthusiasts here to serve others through networking and education. We are here to create growth through relationships and providing a supportive environment to beginner and seasoned professionals! Each month we bring in guests to share their experience as it relates to financial education and/or real estate investing. This meetup will offer actionable items you can start implementing to reach your financial goals. We top it off with a book give away related to this month's theme and a ton of opportunity to network with others that are on their way to financial independence! We welcome members of all experience levels.

This month, our guests are Caleb Wood and David Fitzgerald III. Caleb is a full time real estate investor and licensed life insurance agent. David, also a full time investor, is a certified appraiser and active REALTOR here in Arizona. Both Caleb and David are long time supporters of FREEdM and have been instrumental in the growth, success and culture of our community. We are so excited to hear more about their background, journey into full time REI and what the power of networking and creating relationships has done to supercharge their careers!

This month's agenda:
1. Open Networking
2. Guest presentation and Q&A
3. Book & BREIC Giveaway
4. Closing summary/Open Networking

We have reserved the Jack Room at Clancy's Pub for this event. Food and drink are available at your own expense. This space has limited seating and we want to ensure we have enough space for all guests! Please RSVP and reserve your FREE TICKET HERE.

@Austin Bull Come out to some of our local meetups! There are a lot of individuals doing the same things you're looking to do out here. I'd be happy to share the ones I know of with you.