All Forum Posts by: Ron Healy

Thanks for the welcoming notes and offers everyone.  It's good to know we're not alone in this.  I'm hardly an experienced real estate investor, but I agree that it's probably best to be watching and waiting in AK for now as we will probably see a correction in residential and commercial prices. However, it seems to me that rentals are still very strong.  We recently had no trouble renting a 4/2 typical Anchorage spit-level home.  I wonder if the rental market is relatively protected from an economic downturn.  Any thoughts?

@Erik Nosich and @Jeff Wallenius, thank you very much!

Hi Neal, welcome to BP from another newbie!  I'm afraid I don't have any experience in direct marketing to owners, but the first step, if you haven't already, is to figure out who owns the property.  Your local city office should have a public website that provides the information.  Your strategy will change depending on whether they are local or out-of-state.  Good luck!

Hi everyone, I am new to Bigger Pockets, but my wife and I have dabbled in real estate a bit over the years. When we lived in Cheyenne, Wyoming we bought a duplex as our first investment property and it turned out to be a good experience. We sold it when we moved to Alaska 11 years ago, settled into a new job, sat on the sidelines while the economy slumped due to low oil prices, and recently purchased a SFH at a reasonably good price, rehab'ed, and rented it to a great family. So far, so good.

Our goals are to use real estate to diversify our retirement portfolio since about 90% of our investments are in stocks and bonds through employer sponsored programs.  Not yet sure where our foray into real estate will lead us, but we're looking at all the options.  It should be an interesting journey!

Newbie alert! I just joined Bigger Pockets and am learning to navigate my way around. Great discussion here. I think much depends on a person's goals and how you define a successful investment. My wife and I recently bought a SFH and rented it knowing that it would cash flow only about $100-$200 per month. At this stage of our lives we aren't looking for cash income so we will plow that money right back into the property. So no, we won't be retiring soon on SFH investment incomes. However, what we have is a 20 year mortgage on a property that is being paid for with someone else's money! The first-year return on our down payment and expenses is 9.9%. That's hardly a screaming deal, but where else can we get that kind of return on our money at relatively low risk, and where we get to make the decisions? We're delighted.