All Forum Posts by: Kelly Zimmerman

I'm currently looking at Detroit, Atlanta & Salt Lake City but will continue to keep the Phoenix area on my radar because I have multi-families there and am well-established with a great support team. I like the Yardi Matrix for their monthly and national outlooks, IRR's Viewpoint, Milken Institute, CoreLogic, City-Data & Freddie Mac. I know that seems like a lot but they all provide great information to help you decide if a particular demographic will meet your needs and more importantly perform/cashflow. Also for long distance ownership its important to ensure you have a great support team (real estate agent & property management). Another thing I failed to mention is finding a landlord friendly state. Problem tenants can erode cashflow fast so keep that in mind. Good luck.

I think its important to identify/understand what you want to accomplish with your investment. Are you simply trying to make a few $$ from a future retirement home, are you wanting to create passive income or are you looking to flip properties. If you are looking to buy and hold for passive income then there are a number of things you should consider. Unemployment, what is driving the employment in the area (big industry is key), what is the income to affordability ratio, how does the single family market look (strong, higher value SFR means more people have to rent), what are the current/future rent forecast in the area, what is the crime in the area, vacancy rate and the building industry/growth (saturation in your property class can be an issue). These are a pretty decent start to helping you determine if the demographic will support your overall goal/strategy. Unless you are looking for a future retirement home for yourself, try not to let emotion drive your decisions. Determine what you want to accomplish, gather the tools and data you need and let the information/numbers guide you to success. Learn everything you can; there are a tremendous number of resources here on BP, reach out, they will help you. Good luck, enjoy the process and let me know if you need help with finding the information you need.

Welcome Andre.  I've spent a lot of time researching the greater Phoenix area and recently closed 16 doors on my first purchase.  That said, while there are many lower socio-economic areas you might not want to live in, those are the areas that seem to cashflow the best.  In my research, many of the experts indicate a higher yield on the lower C-rated properties than on the higher A or B properties.  I'm actively looking for a couple more properties in the area and have found only one area thus far that made me uneasy or question my safety and that was the president streets in Phoenix, they were pretty sketchy.  The prices are currently being driven up by the feeding frenzy of midnight infomercial buyers so do your research, know what yield, whether cap. rate, cash on cash or other indicator of performance you're trying to achieve.  Don't be emotional or in a hurry with your purchase.  Verify and double check everything, the sellers and their agents are not always (ever) truthful or forthcoming.  Good luck and don't forget to reach out to the forums for support, there is a tremendous depth of knowledge in the group, they were key to helping me close my properties. 

I sent you my agent's contact info.  I'm working with her now and a friend of mine has used her for several properties as well.  Good luck.

I'm selling a property in California and need a good Qualified Intermediary and Tax Advisor/Accountant.  Does anyone have any suggestions or experience with either in the Orange County area?  Also, any suggestions/words of advice are welcomed; I’m looking to do my first transaction and don’t want to screw this up.  Thank you for any help you can provide.