All Forum Posts by: Naftali Tolibas

Berkedia has a great summary on the Tucson market (https://berkadia.com/wp-conten...) and it's an easy search for the other 2 markets you're interested in. However maybe we should take a step back and ask why you're down-selecting to these 3 markets? Perhaps other markets are out there that meet specific criteria you're looking for. 

Hey Tracy, For starters, the market is appreciating, here are some numbers from Berkadia: https://berkadia.com/wp-conten...

Hey John,

I'm not too familiar with Mobile home parks, but I am however familiar with the rental market in Tucson. I'm sure the 2 have 90% overlap so I should be able to provide some insight there. For starters, the market is appreciating, here are some numbers from Berkadia: https://berkadia.com/wp-conten...

As the rental market appreciates, people will need to find a home that is affordable, yet decent, and I'd imagine that's where Mobile home parks will fit the demand. You're right, there's lots of parks which are run down, so I see a large opportunity in Tucson. 

Eamond Conheady https://www.biggerpockets.com/... owns a park in Tucson, he'd also be a good point of contact. I connected with him a few months ago - he's very driven and I recommend that you reach out to him. 

Hey Andrew,

I am in a similar situation. From doing a bit of research my conclusions are this (and I'm open to being corrected):

1) If you get your house under your name, the option out of it is a refi - but this means higher interest rates if placing in the LLC. Also, with a refinance, atleast 25% equity is need at a minimum (as far as I've seen).

2) The umbrella policy should be suffice for a smaller portfolio.

3) I'm keeping the umbrella until I get to a sizeable portfolio (3 or 4) then start strategizing on purchasing with the LLC (and thus lower less attractive financing). The small portfolio should help me get me more cashflow / funds for more deals. I want to max out the amount of Fannie and Freddie financing (which has better terms) before I start going into commercial financing required for the LLC.

4) The end goal would be to refinance the properties under my name, or to pay them off to get them also into an LLC.

It should go without saying, this isn't legal advice (far from it lol), but this is my strategy. 

Hey Michael, 

The Tucson market is great for an appreciation play while getting some sort of return. Here's my shot at your question, feel free to connect if you want more in depth insight: 

• What parts of Tucson are "nicer" than others (Went once in college and saw some pretty dirty parts)
  • - As a generality, the nicer parts are east of 1st Ave, west of Country Club, south of Grant and north of 22nd. Then the suburban areas out east near Rita Ranch, and up north of River get much nicer. Crime rate in Tucson doesn't really drop until you get further out of the city. I've avoided south part of Tucson, although there are some pockets that I'm looking at investing in (near Irvington area). 
• Is there a good rental market besides college kids needing 1 year leases?
  • Yes, refer to @stephen's article. Due to the virus, 2020 doesn't have good numbers in some areas, but rent is appreciating like crazy (rent for one of my units went from 650 in 2018 to 950 in 2020). 
  • Is the 300k price point reasonable for lets say a duplex in nice condition? (Newerish build)
  • Yes - see @alex's comment. 

Market is crazy hot though, and houses are going over asking. We've never seen inventory this low. 

Hey @Julie Hauser

If you're looking at the Tucson market @Patrick Allen is an excellent investor friendly realtor. I'm not too sure about Property Managers here, but if you're interested in a cheaper market tied to Phoenix's growth, Tucson is the place. I'd be happy to share some knowledge. 

Hey Michael,

I've done 2 house hacks so far in Tucson. The rent to purchase price ratio is quite a bit under the 1% rule (more like 65% - .75%) on the MLS, HOWEVER, if you're creative, you may find some properties close to 1%. The deals I've found on the MLS so far have been close to 1+%:

 - 1900 / month vs 165K purchase price (moved out of house hack - purchase 2018)

- 2100 / month vs 215K purchase (renting out for 1300, living in another proforma - 900 - purchased 2020)

Some of the strategies I recommend when looking in Tucson:

1) Finding homes with 2 houses in one lot (keywords: guest house, 2 homes, two homes etc...)

2) Looking for a large house (3+ bds) and renting out the rooms

3) Looking for 'in-law' suites 

4) Setting up automatic MLS inquiries - Look up @Patrick Allen here, I've worked with him and highly recommend

@Cody Barna That's great! The reason I mention good school system is because it adds value to the house, but you could get appreciation in Marana and Oro Valley too. Phoenix is actually about 5-10 degrees hotter than Tucson. Just based on population, I'd imagine PHX has worse air quality. We have had a huge fire on Mt.Lemmon, but that is an outlier.  Did a quick google search and it supports my assumptions.

https://www.numbeo.com/polluti...

Ditto to @Ameera Aladimi, I moved to Tucson 3 years ago from Hawaii and I enjoy the outdoors, and the lower cost of living. My only gripe is the scorching heat during the summer, but you learn to adapt and stay indoors or do things early in the morning. I currently live 10 minutes from Downtown in a house hack and definitely recommend going that route if scaling your business is your goal and you're still single. 

Here's why I like Tucson:

1. Lower Cost of living and housing

2. Small City feel (less traffic)

3. Outdoor activities (less than an hour away depending on where you live in Tucson)

• I'd look into Mt. Lemmon, it goes up to 8,000 ft I believe and is a great place to go to escape the heat.
• Although Mt. Lemmon recently had a huge fire, not sure what's left of it so that could play a huge factor. 

Here's why I'd move to Phoenix:

1. More food options 

2. I'm a Suns fan lol

3. Airport brings me to HI direct flight

• Big thing to consider if you travel alot - Tucson doesn't have alot of direct flights

The thing to consider is that Phoenix is a much bigger city, and comes with the things that bigger cities have (like more food options lol if that matters to you). 

Hey @Cody Barna,  Have you checked out Vail in the South East side of Tucson? Many Tucson families move there as they have one of the best school districts here. The prices are about as high as Marana / Oro Valley. I guess it depends on what you're looking for. 

Wow! This is great! Thank you for going into so much detail.  I just finished doing the rehab for my rental and it took me about 16 weekends with help from others and less work than you did. Any tips / tricks on how you were able to get everything done in 8 weekends?