All Forum Posts by: Justin Owens

A couple years back we had signed up with a company out here in Arizona. We had to put down $10k and they would do some research and they would secure a property if we put in a bid. We would say go up to $120k on this home and they would bid up to that high. Seemed like a decent service. They did the title research and even drivebys. It seemed like a decent system. They may have charged up to 3% or something if we had purchased a property.

Ultimately there was a lot of competition and the bids always went above what we felt comfortable with. At the time we were just looking for 1 flip and we found it as a probate sale on MLS. We requested our money back and it was given. I would have gone through them had there been a solid deal.

A quick search of Zillow and there seems to be a lot of for rent and for sale in Sierra Vista. It seems there isn't a lack of housing down there. Thoughts?

@Jordan Glenn I agree with @Justin Howe. In Globe, the main street has a lot of commercial vacancies. No new stores are going up (Home Depot, Lowes, Starbucks) it's pretty depressed.

It could turn but who knows commodity prices. Sierra Vista is an interesting one to consider. I have access to the ARMLS but once outside the PHX area there isn't much data. There are a few other Arizona MLS but I was also trying to pull data from Craigslist or Zillow. I'll try and crunch some tomorrow.

What about Safford Thacher with the EA College there?

Thanks all for the help. After meeting the tenant and viewing the property I canceled escrow. We were basically buying at retail (85k) and it needed 10k in upgrades in HVAC, windows, doors etc. That would kill cash flow for a solid 4 years.

The search continues

@Jordan Glenn I am coming from the exact same logic. I have looked at turnkey and have felt more comfortable here. I tried to find census or other information to see which rural areas are growing and which are shrinking. I think Sedona/Flagstaff and the White Mountains can get more of cabin/VRBO type rental but it seems, in the White Mountains, there are a lot of people trying to fill weeks on VRBO/AIRBNB.

I have looked in Globe/Miami/Claypool, Yuma, Kingman, Springerville/Eager, Safford/Thacher etc. But haven't found solid economic data on them. Agents in the area might provide some info but it might be overly optimistic to sell deals. 

I'd be up for a JV in these markets to test the waters. With the lower costs and partners we wouldn't be out much if it didn't pan out.

@Natalie Barber

Are you referring to property taxes? I am not in your area but generally the county Assessor's/Treasurer's website will have the information for annual property taxes. Divide by 12 and you have monthly. 

If you are referring to landlord policy/liability etc. contact your insurance broker/agent. Our Allstate rep was able to provide this over the phone.

Hope this helps.

Welcome @Sandy H.. BP is so great. So much stellar content and so little time.

Sounds like you have some experience under your belt already and that's fantastic.

I had a flip in 2014 and thought long and hard about converting the carport to a garage. Only had one wall and garage door to put on. A seasoned flipper told me to do it and not to bother with a permit. It was in Tempe. I shied away though because I didn't want to pull a permit or get I  trouble for not pulling one.

We made money on the deal so I haven't thought much about it. Today my contractor friend tells me in Tempe you can pull permits over the counter. Maybe I should have.

Sorry I have no input on cost. What is the exterior surface that needs to be matched? Stucco?

@Terry Power Thanks for being man enough to share with the rest of us! 

Welcome! Might that state college make you a Sun Devil? If so, congratulations. Sounds like a good concept. I lean to self management because I think a PM will be adding costs to repairs and/or not shopping it around. A PM would likely go for ease and not look for value for me and my investment. If you had slack in a handyman/on site contractor's schedule and could service off site clients as well, effectively - well that sounds like an excellent use of resources.

The problem I would see is getting your first smaller clients. But as you prove the system and more importantly the savings, they will bring more properties and other investors under your umbrella.